The Red String of Fate
by Lady-Rinoa14
Summary: AU 1 x R. COMPLETE. Opposing the marriage her parents arranged, Relena runs away from home to live her life and to find the man that fate had already arranged for her.
1. Fate Begins

**The Red String of Fate**

"_An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance. This magical cord may stretch or tangle, but it will never break."_

_-Chinese Proverb_

* * *

"Grandma, grandma!" a little girl with braided honey-gold hair exclaimed. "Looky here! I'm done!" Standing up from her cross-legged sitting position on the carpet, she waved a white fabric that had colourful cross-stitched patterns on it.

The elderly woman, seated at the rocking chair by the living room window with her gray hair elegantly curled just below her shoulders, halted doing her embroidery to have a look at her granddaughter's craft. "Why, Relena, this is so touching." She held the fabric with cross-stitched patterns of stars, clouds, hearts, and several other shapes at the border, and at the middle was the cross-stitched "I love Grandma," with the word love being represented by the heart pattern. "Grandma Katrina also loves you, dear."

Holding the red thread attached to the needle that still hung at the fabric, Katrina said, "Relena, do you know about the red string of fate?"

Relena, with her hands behind her, came closer to her grandmother and eyed the red thread. She shook her head. "No, grandma. What is it about?"

"It's an East Asian belief. The Japanese people believe that there is an invisible red thread that is tied to the pinky fingers of two people," Katrina explained, lifting Relena's hand to touch her pinky finger. "And that these two people, no matter what the circumstance, will find each other and be together. In China, they believe they're connected by the ankles."

"The pinky finger?" Relena asked, eyeing her pinky. "If it's invisible, then how will the couple know that they haven't mixed it up with another thread?"

"That's a good question." Katrina laughed. "I guess then the couple will just feel it when they finally meet. And remember, the thread doesn't break. No matter how it gets tangled with somebody else's thread, the two people will still find each other."

"And be together," Relena finished, also sliding her fingers to the length of the red thread on the fabric. "Did you feel it when you met grandfather?"

"Oh, yes." Katrina beamed, turning to the moon at the night sky. "Yes, I did."

"This happened to mom and dad, too, right?"

Katrina looked at her granddaughter. "But of course. And then they had you." The elderly woman placed her hand on Relena's head, massaging her scalp.

Relena closed her eyes at the comfort of her grandmother's fingers on her hair. "Will I also find that person who also has my red string? I want to be happy like you and grandpa, and mom and dad."

"Of course you will," Katrina said. "Finding each other and being in a relationship aren't always smooth-sailing, but when you're destined for each other, everything will still work out." She stopped her ministrations on Relena's head, but her hand still lingered there. Relena opened her eyes. Katrina continued, "But my dear, you're still eight years old. Way too young. You don't have to go looking for him. Someday you will meet him, probably when you least expect it."

And it was her grandmother's words, and the tale of the red string of fate that had aided Relena's decision ten years later.

* * *

While seated on the bed, she waited until her grandmother left her room after she was given a new set of acrylic paint as a gift for having a won in their school's art contest. When her grandmother had already left her room, Relena Darlian immediately pulled out a duffel bag she often used for volleyball trainings.

With haste, she grabbed a handful of clothes from her pink cabinet across the room and stuffed them neatly in her bag, careful enough to arrange them to make room for more stuff. After her clothes, she fumbled through her dresser drawers for toiletries and other necessities, and stuck them in Ziplocs and other small plastic bags, before stuffing them in the duffel bag. She then undressed her house clothes, and put on a shirt, jeans, and sneakers. She also wore a cap on and kept her golden tresses down.

Taking one last look on the bed where the gift her grandmother gave her laid, Relena grabbed it and stuffed in her bag, along with a paintbrush on the bedside drawer. She checked her wallet for cash and added more after taking more bills from the drawer before giving herself an approval to carry on with her mission.

After living for eighteen years in this mansion, Relena perfectly knew how everything in the house worked. She knew that the lights inside were turned off at 11 p.m., she knew that her parents, grandmother and house helpers would also be asleep by then, she knew where the surveillance cameras were located so she avoided them without breaking a sweat, she knew also where she could play with the cables of the cameras so the one that was pointed to their gate was switched off, and she knew at what time the guards did their rounds inside and outside of the premises so in no time, before she could even comprehend what she had been doing in less than thirty minutes, she was out of the Darlian estate.

* * *

Half of Newport City was alive at night. Cars still rustled and bustled even late at night, people still wandered the streets, and clubs and bars were packed with teenagers and adults alike. Walking through the huge Capital city of the country of Sanc, Relena found it hard to believe that she had lived here all her life.

As a child who was groomed by her parents to be the perfect woman, Relena seldom found herself outside the house after school because of her strict curfew. The loud booming speakers from one of the bars she passed by irritated her ears for a while, but she knew this was the price of the freedom she had attained for herself, and before she knew it, it was truly music to her ears.

With her heart still pounding for what she had done, Relena felt a cold sweat on her temple. Deciding to buy herself some soda, she then entered the nearest convenient store that she saw. At the counter, Relena cursed under her breath as she looked over her wallet stuffed with huge amount of bills and no coins at all.

The cashier, a chubby red-haired woman with freckles, tapped her fingers on the cash register impatiently as she watched the blonde teenager fumble through her huge wallet. At a small convenient store such as this, change was hard to give for those who paid in huge sums of money. Relena suddenly considered buying everything in the store.

Slightly pressured by the situation, with Relena almost considering not buying anything at all, a man behind her said, "I have change."

Relena was surprised when a hand tapped hers that held her wallet, and on it were coins. "Thank you." Flustered, she took the coins from the outstretched palm and handed it to the cashier, who shook her head. When she got her drink, she turned to the man next in line – the one who had helped her.

He was facing the cashier and was paying for a cigarette case. Though she could only his side, she found herself even more flustered than a few minutes ago. He had dark brown hair with some of his bangs hanging over his eyes, he had slightly darker complexion than hers, his nose wasn't as pointed as the people in Sanc, but she found her eyes hovering over his fine, jaw line. He was wearing a black leather jacket with a white shirt underneath, and jeans.

When he had gotten his purchase of the night and was about to exit the store, he inevitably locked eyes with her. It was the first time that she had seen eyes like his – Prussian blue ones. He was gorgeous. And at that moment, Relena found it truly hard to pull her eyes away from him.

"I'll pay you for this," Relena said, holding out the soda can.

"It's fine," the man said sternly, face devoid of emotion. He was a bit taller than she was, and with his youthful features, he, too probably had the same age as hers. Approaching her, he said, "You don't have to." And then he exited the store.

Turning on her heels, Relena watched as he drove away on a motorcycle, the wind blowing his musky scent to her direction, making her wish that she could see him again.

* * *

Later in the evening, Relena found herself in a bar. It was one of the first things that popped out of her mind to go to as soon as she had left their mansion, for it was her first time ever entering one. Having just turned eighteen and had just rebelled from her family, she thought that this was the natural thing to do.

She had never tried drinking before. To her recollection, she had only even drank wine whenever her father, who was also the Vice Foreign Minister of the Earth Sphere, would hold gatherings in their homes, as well as on other special occasions and holidays.

The bar had relatively fewer people as opposed to the ones she first passed by, but was still crowded nonetheless. The loud music boomed from the speakers and everybody was going wild at the dance floor on the other side. Cigarette smoke lingered inside, its scent sticking onto her hair and clothes. And she did not mind at all.

Seated on the stool at the counter, with her bag on the floor, the brunette bar tender handed her a third glass of margarita. Twirling the glass with her hand, she thought of what happened in her house hours before she left. Images of their dining table with her father and mother seated across from her and her grandmother penetrated her thoughts.

It was a happy dinner time, she thought. Her parents had been satisfied with her latest test exam scores and award-winning painting. The good vibes lasted until her parents brought up about her future... again.

"_Relena," her father said. He was a brunette with a neatly groomed beard and mustache. "Do you remember about our talk about your future?"_

_She turned to her father, knowing where the conversation was headed. She gripped the utensils tightly. "Yes."_

"_Tomorrow when your class is finished, Pagan will pick you up. We will have dinner at a Chinese restaurant. It's about time you meet your fiancé," her father said authoritatively._

"_No," Relena said. "I'm not yet ready to meet him." She turned from her father who had an icy gaze, to her mother who almost looked sorry for her. "I keep on saying this; I'm not yet ready for marriage!"_

"_Watch your tone, young lady," her father said. "We've talked about this several times already. This is for your future."_

_Her mother, whose hair was neatly arranged into a bun behind her, said, "The family you're marrying in to is a good family, and they will ensure that..."_

"_More money will be generated. It's all about money," Relena interjected. "I don't want to marry someone for money!"_

"_Relena!" her father exclaimed._

"_Michael, for goodness sake, watch your tone, as well! You're scaring the child!" Katrina, his mother-in-law, said, rubbing Relena's back._

_Michael Darlian drew in a breath, closed his eyes, and tried to compose himself. And then Relena said, "Allow me to go to an art school in college, and I'll marry this guy, whoever he is."_

_The fire that Michael had tried to suppress burned once more. "No. You will be taking a business course..."_

"_You're deciding both MY career and MY marriage! That's unfair. If you're going to marry me off to someone I don't even know, then at least let me do what I want the most!"_

Gulping down the margarita in one go, Relena's head swam. She desperately wanted to forget the moment she walked out of the dining room, her father slapping her as she firmly said that she would not meet her fiancé and even the pleading of her grandmother on her behalf.

Relena bit her lower lip as tears began to well up in her eyes. Just then, someone sat beside her. "Hey miss; you're a new face here."

Relena gave him a look and turned away. He was a tall, blonde man with hair styled with so much gel and combed to the extent that all of the strands were directed to the back of his head. He was grinning at her with an air of arrogance and maliciousness that made Relena want to barf in that instant.

"A snobby one we've got here," he said. "Do you want another drink?" He motioned to the bartender for another drink.

Pinching the bridge of her nose with her pointing finger and thumb, her head pounded, Relena said, "I'm fine, thank you."

Her head pounded again, wondering if she had inhaled too much smoke or if was because of the drink, but she started to get dizzy. The man beside her stood and touched her arm. "You don't look too well, Princess. Would you like to go to my place..."

"I'm fine," Relena said, pulling his arm away from her. "Please leave me alone."

She got up from the stool and was about to pick her bag until a hand grabbed her wrist. Relena shook it away forcefully as a reflex, knocking over the new drink that the bartender served. "Don't touch me!"

Fire burned in the man's eyes. He held out his hand once more to grab both of her wrists in one swipe and pinned her against the counter. "Fiery, aren't you?" the man said, glaring at her, reeking of alcohol.

"Hey, hey, hey! What's going on?" The bartender exclaimed, his voice drowned by the loud music.

Relena wriggled from his grasp. "Maniac," she said.

"Why you!" the man raised his arm to hit her.

Relena closed her eyes, anticipating the blow on her face. When there was none a few seconds later, she opened her eyes to see her captor cry out in agony. She noticed the man beside her captor, and her eyes widened at the sight of the man from the convenience store earlier.

Her savior was holding the arm of her captor, probably too tightly, looking as if he was almost crushing the bones of the man.

The blonde's hands then released her hands. "Stop, stop, stop!" he cried out. "I'll leave!"

The man from the convenience store then let go of the blonde, who clutched his arm as if to check if he was still in one piece. The blonde gave a frightening look at the man who had almost crushed his arm and fled the bar.

Relena watched as her savior fish out money from his jeans pocket and placed it on the table, paying her drink for the second time that night. He then leaned to pick up Relena's duffel bag, much to her surprise, and grabbed her wrist. He pulled her without a word, through the sea of dancing, drunk, people until they were out of the bar. The door closed behind them, slightly muting the sound of the speakers.

Relena followed the man absent-mindedly until they were by the sidewalk. He handed her, her bag. "Here. Are you alright?"

Seeming as though she had just woken up from a dream, Relena nodded, her headache returning. "Thank you. You're from the convenience store earlier. It's the second time you've helped me, thank you." She smiled at him, ignoring the trembling of her body, not knowing whether it was from the cold or from her handsome savior's close proximity.

The man nodded, acknowledging her gratitude. "I was around. I may not be around for the third time you're going to be in trouble."

A moment of silence awkward silence hung around them as cold as the breeze that blew.

"I should go," the man said, heading towards his motorcycle. "You better go home, as well, lady. Clearly, you're not the type who frequent bars."

Relena nodded, knowing well that she could and would not go home. And that going to any of her friends' houses or just even giving them a call will just involve them in this mess that she had created. She had not even got this part of her mission straightened out. When they figure it out, she knew her family would not announce her disappearance publicly, for it will taint the image of her father when they reveal that she had left because of her parents' manipulation of her life. But she was also aware that her family, who owned and had relations with every hotel and inn in the city, would track her down and she will not last a day if she ever checked in one of them.

Despite that, as of the moment, the man in front of her was her concern. He was leaving again, and that very thought of being alone scared her, though she did not show it.

The man looked at her as she watched him put on his helmet. When he got on the motorcycle, Relena called him, "Hey."

He turned to her and waited for what she had to say.

"What's your name?" Relena asked.

The man blinked. "Heero," he said. "It's Heero."

"Heero," Relena repeated, and smiled. "Thank you, Heero."

"Hn," Heero nodded, and kicked the motorcycle alive before speeding off into the streets.

Relena watched as the man named Heero was out of sight. The wind blew once more, and she still could breathe in his musky scent. She then lifted her hand so her middle finger and thumb could massage her temples, fighting back the tears that had welled up in her eyes. This had been an eventful day.

Moments later, a sound of a roaring motorcycle in front of her surprised her. She opened her eyes and removed her hand that obstructed her view from the person in front of her. And there she was again, locking eyes with Heero, who just got off from his bike.

"Where do you live?" he asked her.

"What?"

"Where do you live?" He repeated. "I'll take you there. It's dangerous for a woman like you to wander alone in Newport."

"I.." Relena sought for the right words to say. Can she just blatantly say that she just left her home?

Heero watched the woman in front of him avert her gaze from his, suddenly missing the blue of her eyes. He saw her ball her hand on her chest, while her other one gripped the duffel bag tightly. He eyed the bag critically, and for a moment, he understood her intentions.

"You don't want to check in someplace else?" Heero asked.

Relena turned to him once more, feeling that he had seen through her. "I can't," she replied. "But I'll be fine. It's okay."

Taking the helmet from the motorcycle, Heero tossed it to Relena. "Put it on."

Eyeing the helmet, Relena asked, "What's the meaning of this?"

"It means you'll have to get on the bike. I know a place where you can stay," Heero answered, now getting on the motorbike. When his companion had not moved any closer to him, he turned to her. "If you want to freeze out here, it's fine. But my conscience will not be." He sighed when the woman still did not move a muscle, his eyes softened. "Trust me."

Relena did not know what compelled her to move her feet towards this man, whom she had just met, but there was just this gut feeling inside her that told her that she will be fine with him, that he will not hurt her, that she can indeed trust him. After all, he had saved her twice on one night. This would be the third.

She then finally put on the helmet. When she stood beside him, he removed his leather jacket and handed it to her. "No, no. I'm fine. I don't need it."

"Your body seems to tell otherwise," Heero said, still holding his jacket, waiting for her to accept. "You keep on trembling."

Relena bit her lip, a gesture that confirmed his observation.

"I'm used to driving out on cold nights like this. It's not a big deal."

Nodding, Relena grabbed his jacket and wore it. His scent filled her senses, making her thoughts swim in all directions. Or maybe she was just too tired.

"Get on," Heero said when Relena had freed her golden hair under his jacket.

He took the liberty of slipping her heavy bag on his shoulder when Relena sat behind him. He then felt her shivering hands hesitate on where to put it, afraid that she will invade his personal space.

"You can hold on to me," Heero said. "As tightly as you want."

Taking up the advice, Relena wrapped her arms around his waist, feeling the heat and chiselled physique of his body underneath the shirt, which made her blush. She felt the motorbike go alive once more, and then they were on the streets.

As they passed by bars, restaurants, and residential houses from one street to another with the wind blowing their hair, Relena felt her headache go away and was replaced by this feeling of freedom and security she had not thought she would feel when leaving home. Still tired, she let her eyes drift shut and leaned her cheek on the back of this stranger, whom she had entrusted her life with tonight.

Before losing her consciousness, Relena thought of her grandmother who will probably be hysterical when they find out that she had left. Her grandma Katrina had always been superstitious. She had also always said that "Bad luck comes in three." But to Relena, being helped by this man thrice in a night, maybe good luck also comes in three.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Hi! How to explain this? Ummm, I know I once said to myself that I won't write any more multi-chaptered fics until I finish my other pending stories. But this one's just been knocking on my head for quite some time now, so I just had to write it.**

**I plan for this story to be short, since it's just a segway from my other stories. But we'll never know. Haha. I'm never good at predicting the number of chapters left to finish.**

**I hope you guys liked this one! I'm enthusiastic about this. Haha.**

**That's all for now! Take care! :)**


	2. Coming Closer

**Chapter 2: Coming Closer**

"_Coming closer__  
__Hurry on, hurry on time, it's going so fast__  
__Hurry on, I can't save you__  
__Can't slow it down, you know this is your fate__  
__Are you feeling lonely? So lonely, lonely__  
__Cry to the wind__You are so pretty with your eyes closed__  
__I shouted at fate__  
__Overflowing, swallowed up, I stand still__  
__There's nothing I can do__  
__Can't this hand heal you?~__"_

_~Coming Closer by L'Arc~en~Ciel~_

* * *

The door opened and Heero stepped inside first to open the lights in the living room. "Here," he offered, with Relena's bag still on his shoulder, opening the door wide for his guest to enter.

Relena stepped into the house, still groggy from her short slumber, as her eyes squinted to adjust in the brilliance of the room. There was a staircase on the left side of the house, and ahead of her was another doorway that led to the kitchen and dining area. To her right was the living room, the fireplace was against the farthest wall, a couch on its opposite side, and the television was on the corner. There were carpets, and thick red curtains draped on the windows in every room, giving Relena a strange warm welcome.

Suddenly feeling her companion's eyes boring into her, she hesitantly stepped inside the house, and he closed the door behind them.

"Where are we again?" Relena asked, standing by the doorway, while Heero had already walked into the living room and put down her bag.

"Barge City. An hour away from Newport."

"And this is?"

"My place," Heero replied casually.

Relena felt like her jaw and heart dropped to the floor. "I thought that..."

Seeing the confusion bordering on panic etched on her features, Heero said, "You _can_ stay here. I apologize for not making it clear earlier. You can stay in my house." Pulling off his leather jacket, which he hung by on the chair by the window, he said, "It's clear that you don't have any plans in going home tonight, and if you're ever going to stay home at a friend's house, you could've called her already." He met her eyes. "But you didn't. And you said that you're not going to check in somewhere else. So I thought you might need some help."

Relena was stunned by the way Heero had analyzed her situation as if he had planned it. And he was right. But then again, that was just a part of her whole concern in general. For once, she was frightened of staying under the same room with a person whom she had just met, no matter how gorgeous he looked, in his own home nonetheless. She thought about refusing this time around, but sleeping on the streets won't be an inviting option either.

Sensing her doubts, Heero put his hands in his jeans pocket and spoke to her. "I'm not going to do anything to you if that's your concern." He picked up his jacket and her bag before circling around the couch to walk up to her. "It's up to you. If you're having doubts, you can leave. I'm not going to force you to trust me." He held out her bag for her to take. "If you want to stay, then it's fine."

Relena bit her lower lip as she stared at his eyes, feeling like she could get lost in those deep blue orbs that almost pulled her soul to believe in him. She tried to ignore his scent, his close proximity, and it took a lot of will power not to look below his face where his thin shirt was doing a poor job of covering his sculpted body. Drawing in a deep breath, she said, "I can sleep on the couch."

For the first time that night, Heero's lips curved up a little, which was close enough to be considered a smile. It was a simple act, but when his amusement with her reply reached his eyes, Relena felt like the room had gone brighter.

Raking a hand on his hair, he shook his head, "I don't treat guests like that." He reached for her bag again and turned his back on her, heading for the staircase. "I'll show you your room."

Heero opened the second door on the left when they reached the second floor. "You can stay here."

Relena entered the room and took notice of the bed by the window at the corner, the cabinet on its opposite side and a study table and seat at the corner nearest to the door. The room was almost as big as the one Relena had in their mansion. "I like it," she said, smiling at Heero. "Thanks."

Heero nodded. He motioned to the end of the hall. "The bathroom is over there. You can use it first. The scent of smoke doesn't suit you."

Suddenly feeling self-conscious and embarrassed, Relena thought of how long she had stayed in the bar, and just how long had she been smelling like a lit cigarette. "Where's your room?" she asked.

"Here," Heero answered, pointing to the first door on the left. "If you need anything just call me, Miss..."

"Oh, how rude of me. It's Relena," Relena said. "My name's Relena." She held out her hand, which he shook uneasily, and lingered there longer than intended. The physical interaction made Relena's heart skip a beat and made her revel in the warmth of his calloused hands. "Good night," she then said, breaking the spell that had her entranced with him for a few good minutes.

"Good night, Relena," Heero said, letting go of her hand, before heading off to his own room.

Relena then closed her bedroom door and leaned her back against it. She placed her balled fist on her chest, just in case it could do anything to stop her heart from racing so fast. The feel of his touch still lingered on her palm. It was unprecedented; in the presence of the man at the other room, Relena wondered if she would be able to sleep soundly at all.

* * *

It was Heero who had a hard time sleeping. The sun had not even risen yet, only slightly teasing the dark sky of its advent, when he woke up groggily. Grabbing a pillow beside him, the one that he often hugged when he slept, he placed it on his face as he closed his eyes, hoping to be lulled back to sleep.

Instead, he found himself reliving last night like a movie on play. At first he had met his friend, Duo Maxwell, in a music lounge in town to receive the right amount of cash he needed. He recalled bidding his friend goodbye with a heavy heart when he was told of something about his family, so the first thing that popped into his mind was to buy a cigarette case so he could smoke and then drink himself into oblivion.

But none of them ever came into fruition due to the presence of one woman, whom he had remarkably seen twice that night. Even when he closed his eyes, he could still clearly picture her in his mind: her golden hair being blown by the wind, as he looked at her from the side mirror, as if the strands were woven for royalty, her shy smile that was like a privilege to see, and her eyes that reminded him of the ocean that he frequently visited back in his homeland – honest, enticing, vivid and familiar.

She said her name was Relena. _Relena, _he mentally said. He liked it. He liked the way her name rolled off his tongue.

There was something about her eyes that enticed him. When Relena had been masking everything and went on to say that everything was all right, her eyes always gave away her true emotions. Her nervousness amused him, but her honest look had him wanting to see more of her expressions.

He pictured her delicate hands that were on his waist hours before. Her grip was firm, like she was holding on to him for dear life, solidly binding her trust in him. And he had willingly brought it home. He knew right then and there that he would not want to break her trust, and he would be damned if he would break it.

When he remembered that he did actually bring her home, and was occupying the room just next to his, his heart raced. He searched below his pillows for his cellular phone to check the time; it read 5:52 a.m. Knowing that he won't be getting back to sleep anytime soon, he got up from bed and put on a shirt over his naked torso.

As the door shut behind him, he heard the sound of a spatula being tapped on a pan, soon after his nostrils were filled with the scent of eggs. Looking over the railing of the second floor, he looked at the dark living room and the light coming from the kitchen.

Trusting his instincts, he stealthily climbed down the stairs and made his way to the doorway that led to the kitchen, half-expecting to see a burglar scavenging for left-over food, which was ridiculous 'cause Heero had no idea how to cook, there were only eggs in his refrigerator for all he knew.

Peeking from the doorway, Heero was greeted by the figure of a woman who had her back turned to him. Her hair was tied into a loose ponytail, and she was wearing a pink tank top and pajamas. From the scent of the egg that lingered in the room and the scraping of spatula, he could only infer that she was frying something. On the table, there were already two mugs, a plate with bacons, placemats, and on it were empty plates placed in front of the seats, a bowl filled with fried rice, and a larger empty plate.

So he also had bacons, he thought. He watched as his house guest make breakfast, her movements were graceful and it almost felt natural for her to be doing it in his place.

When his guest had turned around so she could place the eggs on the largest plate on the table, her eyes caught sight of the figure standing by the doorway that made her gasp and jump in surprise. She gasped and dropped the spatula; the sound of it falling against the tiled floor reverberated in the silence of the room.

Realizing that the person was not a ghost or a burglar, she felt at ease when Heero had fully entered the room. How long had he been standing there?

"Sorry." Shaking her head at the thought and with her stupidity, Relena knelt down to pick up the fallen spatula. But her heart was still racing, was it from her shock or just because the kitchen now seemed too small for the two of them?

"You scared me," Relena said, her knees feeling weak.

"I'm at fault. Sorry." Heero came up instantly beside her and took the pan she realized that she was still holding, while he offered his other hand to help her stand up again. "You couldn't sleep?"

"A little." Relena accepted Heero's offer and took his hand, trying to ignore the jolting sensations the contact elicited. She dumped the spatula on the sink along the pan when Heero had already placed the eggs on the plate. "I figured that this is one of the things I can do to show my gratitude for letting me stay here," she added as she sat down on one of the chairs, while Heero sat across from her.

"It's not a big deal," Heero said, eyeing the eggs and fried rice on the table.

"It is to me. How much do I owe for staying?" Relena asked as she was scooping rice onto her plate.

Heero lifted his head to look at her, raising an eyebrow. "Did I charge you for anything?"

She lowered her head, avoiding his accusing gaze. "Well, no..."

They sat at an awkward, uncomfortable silence as they ate. Relena wondered what type of conversation she should initiate, for in the short time that she had met Heero, she inferred that he was not a man of many words. And that he had never asked about her situation at all. She was waiting for him to ask neither what had gotten her almost drunk at the bar nor why she did not come home nor contact any friends.

She was expecting those questions; heck she even rehearsed the explanations that she will say when he finally asked them so she would not sound totally stupid. But the questions never came. So Relena thought that he was a man who respected other people's privacies, and she was grateful for that.

On the other hand, it was her who wanted to ask him a lot of questions. She was curious about him; there was something in his strong, commanding presence that demanded her attention. But she held them back, knowing that she would have no use for those when she finally left his house. She had to get out of Newport City soon before her father would have all staff members of airports and ship ports await her arrival.

"I was surprised you were already awake. I was waiting for you," Relena said, setting her utensils on the side, as soon as she had finished her meal.

"You were?" Heero looked up to meet her gaze, confounded.

"Yes," Relena said. "So I can properly say goodbye, and thank you."

There was a change in Heero's stern gaze; Relena noticed for a brief instant, and it was gone before she had the chance to comprehend.

"You're leaving," Heero said as if stating a fact.

She nodded.

"Where are you going to stay after?"

Relena broke away from his scrutiny and looked at the chandelier that hung on the living room ceiling from her view in the kitchen. "I'll be sure to find one by the end of the day," she replied, doubting her own words as she thought of every inn and hotel in town being informed by her family to keep a look out for her. She thought of her friends whom her parents will be asking about. She thought of the places she still had not seen and had wanted to see from the vast green meadows in New Zealand up to the cherry blossoms in Japan. She thought of the faceless man whom her red thread was connected to, the man she knew she would meet in one of her journeys.

It was that look nervous and honest look again that Heero had been fond of. Relena did not realize that she had already spaced out when Heero spoke, "Just so you know, when I said that you can stay here, it means that you can stay here for as long as you like."

"What?" She looked back at him.

"Until you properly find a place." Heero had also finished eating, turning his utensils on one side. "You can stay here free of charge."

"Really?" Relena felt like her ears were betraying her.

"Hn."

Relena shook her head, adamant. "I can't do that."

Knowing that she would be refusing through and through, he finally said, "If you know how to cook anything else that I can wake up to then it's fine. That can be your payment. Your fried rice was delicious, by the way."

Relena's tilted her head; her face cracked a wide smile, indicating her gratitude. "I can do that."

* * *

At noon, Heero left the house and told her that he would be meeting a friend. He had given her a spare key just in case she would leave to take a stroll in town. Sitting on the couch, with her back against the arm rest and her legs stretched along the cushion's length, Relena looked at nothingness.

By this time, she thought, that her family would have found out that she was missing. They had probably called her cellular phone several times, and even her friends. Her thoughts wandered on the classes that she had missed that day and the others that she will soon be missing.

She had never skipped class before as she was trying to be the perfect daughter her parents had always wanted her to be. There were times when she was tempted to try to skip a class, but when not even thirty minutes had already passed, she found herself still walking into the room despite being late, because of her guilt. This time around, though, the slightest bit of guilt was still there, but there was this fraction of amusement at the thought of her parents going berserk that she had missed class. That probably for once in her life, she had made an error, a sign that she was still human.

Relena told herself that she will go back to school after the issue of her disappearance would already die-down, if it will ever die-down. By now, her parents would be on the look out of her appearance in school. She would wait, she planned, she would wait until she was secured that the school was not being checked anymore. She would withhold her decision to go overseas for now, for there would be no way out. Her father, as the Vice Foreigner, would secure all of those.

She thought of her future husband, his family, and even hers, all of whom were expecting to meet on this very day to discuss about their _future._ The word was like acid in Relena's tongue.

Guilt knotted at the pit of her stomach with her actions, and there was this temptation that wanted her to return to their house and just accept her fate regardless of what she truly wanted. But she couldn't, shouldn't, she told herself.

She thought of her grandmother doing her cross-stitching at the corner of their living room. If there will be anyone whom in her family whom she did not bare a grudge with then it was her grandmother, who had always been her confidante.

Tears began to well up in her eyes as the overall effect of her running away clouded her thoughts. The guilt in her was escalating, she was causing trouble, but on the other side, she just did not want to be married somebody her parents told her to marry. And it wasn't just that. She was just too damn tired of being manipulated.

Ever since her grandmother had told her about the tale of the red string of fate, Relena had always dreamed of various instances in which she would meet her other half, like on a winter day when she would fall from skiing in Alaska and he would be there to pick her up and hold her until eternity. An arranged marriage was not anything near that excitement of falling in love.

Picking up her pencil and paper from the table in front of the couch, she sunk back at the couch, blinking back her tears. She drew in a deep breath, inhaling Heero's scent that lingered on the couch that sent shivers run down her spine. She thought of him and his hand that were on hers earlier that morning, how the Prussian blue of his eyes demanded her attention, how his smirk can make her heart race, how his monotone, but deep velvet voice can soothe her uneasiness, enveloping her with a gentleness that she had not expected from a stranger.

Still absorbed with her thoughts from the moment she had seen him at the convenience store up to the most recent time that she had saw him, Relena's hands moved automatically. Her hand holding the pencil made lines, curves, and shades on the paper. When she had snapped back to reality, she looked at the pad on her hand, and there was the sketch of Heero's face looking back at her.

Maybe when everything had been settled, she will tell her grandmother about Heero, her hero. She liked it. She liked that title on him.

* * *

"Relena!" a casually-dressed, young woman with short, dark hair and emerald green eyes, hissed when she saw her friend as she was sitting on the booth at a local burger store.

"Hi, Hilde." Relena smiled faintly, hugging her friend before settling on the seat across from her. There were only few people in the shop. It was one of those that Relena first saw last night when she and Heero had entered Barge City.

The young woman named Hilde raised an eyebrow and scrutinized her friend, from the way she was dressed too casually with a cap on her head, and sunglasses that she had removed that instant. "Okay," Hilde said, pressing both of her palms on the table, trying to get to the point with very little time left. "Tell me everything before I tell you your parents' side of the story."

Relena watched her bestfriend since they were on first grade as she tried to formulate a concise response. Hearing about her parents also made her stomach churn. When she had awoken that late afternoon, Relena had used the telephone just below the staircase of the house to call Hilde on her cellphone to meet with her, largely because she wanted to know if her parents had contacted her yet.

"Well..." Relena began. "I ran away." After ordering just coffee, Relena had begun relaying everything that happened starting from her arranged marriage up to the stay in Heero's home.

When Relena was done talking, Hilde's jaw dropped, absorbing the fact that her bestfriend who had never dated anyone before, was living with a man - a stranger nonetheless – and she – Relena – who had always been the obedient daughter, actually ran away and rebelled from her own family. Maybe eighteen years of pressure from career-driven relatives truly took a toll on her.

Hilde's features softened. "Relena, I know you said you trust this man even if you barely knew him. But once he does something to you, forgive me but I will have to tell it to your parents."

Hearing the word "parents" made Relena's stomach turn upside down. "Okay."

Seeing this as a lee-way to finally bring it up, Hilde said after she had sipped her coffee. "Your mother came to school today. She came up to me on the parking lot and asked if you had slept in our house for the night. Imagine the two of us with the same shocked expression when I said that you didn't."

Relena's brow wrinkled, her gaze softening. "Sorry," she said. "I knew they'd go to you."

Hilde dismissed it with a wave. "It's fine. But then she told me if I could be quiet of you disappearing and that I should contact them when I finally get a word from you."

"That's preposterous. They should know better. You're my friend. You won't tell on me, right?" Relena asked for validity, a bit nervous actually of what her friend might answer.

"Of course, you idiot, no matter how absurd this is," Hilde said. "I followed your mom up to the school. She went to our homeroom adviser's office and told Professor Une that you're terribly sick and has to rest for a couple of days that may even take a week to fully recover."

Relena was wide-eyed after the explanation. Her parents were quick in coming up with damage control. And it was a good lie, for she did not have to attend school just to be lured back to their mansion. "What else? Did Professor Une buy it?"

"Oh she bought it alright," Hilde answered, leaning back against the cushion. "She said that they did not have to trouble themselves in going to school to explain. Your absences will be excused."

"Unbelievable," Relena sunk back to her chair, as well.

"Yeah," Hilde replied before leaning in forward again with a sheepish grin on her face. "Now enough of the serious stuff! Tell me more about this gorgeous guy you're living with!"

For the first time in their reunion, Relena smiled widely. She had a dreamy look on her eyes, and her thoughts were suddenly full of Heero. "For starters, his name is Heero," she began, and continued talking about him until it was already evening.

* * *

Relena then bid her friend, Hilde, goodbye as soon as the sun had fully set, leaving the night sky filled with dazzling colonies of stars. She had promised to call her friend once in a while to make sure that she was still living and well. Once alone, she took a stroll around the city of Barge. It was almost the same as Newport, in which the bars were alive at night; the rows of apartments had the same white and green designs, only that there were fewer cars and more trees in the area.

Still preoccupied with what her bestfriend relayed to her about her family, Relena almost absent-mindedly strolled along the streets. Knowing that she was someone who did not go out of the house often, Relena inferred that her parents would only be focusing on Newport City. And that it would take a while for them to actually find her.

She passed by a Chinese restaurant and stared at the people eating inside through the huge glass window. This was supposed to be the day when she would finally meet the man who she was engaged with, and in a Chinese restaurant nonetheless.

Relena's gaze closed on the family nearest to the window, which was actually in front of her, and wondered if the man her parents chose for her also had the red hair and freckles, similar to the one seated in front of her, or was he a rich Arab like the one with platinum blond hair, similar to the one at the farthest corner of the restaurant.

Looking away, she then saw the supermarket a few steps away.

_If you know how to cook anything else that I can wake up to then it's fine. That can be your payment._

Heero's face and words then penetrated her thoughts, making her features lighten up and easily shake off her family matters. Elated, she entered the supermarket thinking if Heero was up for beef stew tonight.

* * *

When Heero had also bid goodbye to his friend Duo Maxwell, a man with a cheerful countenance and a braided hair that reached up to his ass, Heero sped off the streets on his motorcycle much delighted this time around than he was yesterday after talking to his friend.

As the evening breeze blew past him as he drove towards his house, he instantly remembered that he did not have the house to himself anymore as Relena's face infiltrated his mind. Truth be told, he couldn't stop thinking about her. Sure he had brought other girls in his house starting from when he was sixteen years old, but he had found it odd that his palms were now sweating and cold from what – excitement? He couldn't explain it, but there was an alien feeling that crept up on him just by picturing Relena lying on his couch, her heart-shaped face pillowed on her arms on the arm rests, and her golden hair spilling on the contrasting blackness of the cushions.

Taking a turn on an intersection and slowing down, as if his thoughts had summoned her, Heero immediately skidded to a halt when he saw her standing in front of a Chinese restaurant. Parking his bike, he slowly approached her, watching her as he did so. Her cucumber melons scent filled his senses as he came closer until he could clearly see the melancholic look on her face.

"Hey," Heero called. _So she did go out._ Seeing that she only had two plastic bags on her hand, and not her duffel bag, Heero felt relief wash over him. She was still going to stay in his house.

Startled, Relena turned to him. "Heero."

Motioning to the restaturant, Heero said, "You hungry?"

"A little." Relena smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. She lifted the plastic bags that she was holding for emphasis. "But I'll cook tonight. My payment."

Heero grinned at her last statement, but faded as he put his hands in his jeans pocket. "Do you always do that?"

Relena cocked her head to the side. "Do what?"

"Convince people that you're alright when you're really not?"

Relena frowned at his statement and looked away. She bit her lip; her family, her fiancé's family, her friends, everyone involved in her problems penetrated her thoughts once more. Heero had hit a mark.

Feeling guilty about his blatant remark that led to Relena's silence, Heero went back to his motorcycle to grab his helmet. He then approached Relena and slid it on her head.

"I apologize," he said, swallowing, when she looked up at him quizzically, his fingers lingering at the base of the helmet that framed her face. From the transparent material of the helmet that separated his eyes from hers, he could see a few sparkling beads of tears forming in her eyes. He was drawn.

Taking the plastic bags from her hand, and using his other one to reach for her wrist, he led her to the motorcycle. He got on the bike and slid each plastic bag on the two handles. Relena followed him, stood at his side for a moment, almost hesitating, before getting on to settle behind him.

"Do you always do that?" Relena asked, mimicking his question.

"Do what?" Heero looked over his shoulder a bit to see her. He felt a chill run down his spine as her arms went around his waist.

"Pick up lonely girls from the street and takes them home?"

Heero grinned. "Only when I know that they'll be cooking for me."

Relena gave an honest smile that Heero clearly saw over his shoulder. She leaned her head on his back as he began to drive them both back... home.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

****I just want to say that I'm on a roll for this story, so expect more updates from this one for the next few days. I hope you're all okay with it! :) Thanks to everyone who reviewed this so far. Thank you, thank you.

Oh and something random, you guys like this site's new look? It's kind of a late reaction, but at first I didn't like it, but then I got used to it and it's actually visually-appealing to see the other writers' avatars. What am I saying, I'm just rambling. Haha.

Until the next update! Take care, peeps! :)


	3. Apple and Cinnamon

**Chapter 3: Apple and Cinnamon**

"_Started out so simple and innocent  
So simple and innocent_

_Chemistry like apple and cinnamon_  
_Like apple and cinnamon_

_Chemistry like apple and cinnamon_  
_What we had was just to good, good to last~"_

_~Apple and Cinnamon by Utada Hikaru~_

* * *

Heero awoke early in the morning to the scent of cinnamon. Putting a sweatshirt on, he made his way down the stairs and smiled to himself as he heard the clutter of pans, bowls, and pans in the kitchen.

Stopping at the kitchen doorway, Heero observed the figure that was mixing in a bowl, while the pan beside her sizzled. It had already been four days since Relena had entered his house and his life. Four days since she had been preparing him food, each day a different menu; four days since he had a girl in his house without him taking her clothes off.

He leaned on the doorframe as he continued to watch her, though her back was facing him, sprinkle something in the bowl and continued to mix. There was a way with her movements that made him think that she was dancing. Her movements were always graceful, elegant, almost as if she were gliding seamlessly from one room to another. Heero found himself always drawn to it.

It was a record for Heero, he thought, eyeing Relena's slender figure. Sure he had brought girls in his house before, but none of them had actually the chance to go as far as the kitchen, nor did anyone have the opportunity to sit with him in the living room by the fire talking about this and that, surely not about sex.

Relena then dipped her finger on the mixture to taste it. It made Heero's hand ball in a fist, fighting the urge to lick her fingers. She was beautiful; no questions asked, he inferred. But for the past few days that he had been living with her, he saw a lot of other things beautiful about her: her sketches of different places and people that she often left on the table, her cheerful personality, her generosity, her shy and innocent demeanour, and her eyes that held all the intensity that countered her bashfulness.

There was something in her that demanded his attention without intending to. And Heero would be damned if he had never had the urge to pull her into his room, onto his bed, and explore her body along with her secrets.

Sure he and Relena had always talked in the house, but it was mostly about the shallow, mundane things. He was aware that they were both aware of what they were saying, giving away something about themselves, but guarded and careful enough not to give too much.

So Heero just watched her, as he often did. And he told himself that would not as hell touch her without her consent. He had no idea how long she would stay in his house, and he was not a man of control. But if he didn't want to scare her away, he had to be good; he had to bite back the desires that always came up whenever she was near.

But this was now the fifth day. There was always a limit to his short-lived control.

* * *

She could get used to this.

It was the first thing that Relena thought as she prepared breakfast on her fifth day living with Heero. After flipping the pancake to its other side, Relena left the pan for a while so she could dump the huge bowl, still left with excess pancake mixture, mixing spoon, chopping board, grater, and knife onto the sink. Returning to the pan, she transferred the pancake onto the already four-stacked pancakes on a plate.

Feeling a presence at the doorway, Relena lifted her gaze from the table. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough," answered Heero, who was leaning against the doorframe of the kitchen with his arms crossed. It was one of those instances that Relena always found Heero doing for reasons she cannot understand. "I like watching you," he said.

_Why? _Relena blinked and stared at him as if he was a fleeting gorgeous apparition – unbelievable. Relena had always been aware of his eyes on her. Actually, Heero always had his eyes on everything. _A very observant person, _Relena mused.

_I like watching you. _She gave an uncomfortable laugh. "I'm already done with the pancakes. You can eat first," Relena said as she also dumped the pan on the sink, and headed towards the refrigerator.

"You think I'm joking," Heero said as he watched Relena glide her way elegantly in his kitchen. This time, Heero's hands were in fists. He wanted to touch her, to hold her waist in his arms.

"I just don't know what to say to that. Thanks, I guess?" She chuckled, going over the now-stuffed refrigerator.

"No one has said that to you before?"

Relena heard him shift, his footsteps growing louder as he approached her. The next second he was standing behind her.

Relena took a breath as she felt Heero's well-built body press on her back. She felt the hairs at the back of her neck stand up with his close proximity. Still, she shook her head. "Not really." She had been given the words beautiful, dazzling, elegant, brilliant, talented, and enchanting by the children of her parents' socialite friends, but none of them had ever told her that they liked looking at her.

Heero leaned and whispered to her ear. "What do other men usually tell you?"

Relena shivered when his breath tickled her ear. She tried to control her breathing. Truth be told, other than their usual position on the motorbike, this was the closest that he had been with her. He had always kept a good distance with her whenever they talked or hung out in the living room. This. This was different.

"The generic ones. Talented, beautiful, competent." She then pulled out a plastic bottle and read its label.

"You don't believe them?"

She shook her head, reading the label of the bottle for the hundredth time as she tried to ignore Heero's close proximity. "I don't think I should. They were probably just compelled to say it anyway."

"You're joking." Heero wondered about her statement, and decided not to ask any further, not wanting to hear about the other men who got her attention. He leaned further just over Relena's shoulder, wondering what she was looking for. He could smell the scent of apples and cinnamons in her. He looked at the exposed skin on the hollow of her shoulder and neck, wondering if she tasted like it, as well. "Does it make you uncomfortable?"

"What does?"

"Being told you're beautiful. That I like watching you."

"Just not used to it." Relena could feel his breath on her neck. Her breathing became shallow and fast. "No, really," she said, trying to control her voice. "Or maybe I just wasn't paying attention."

"To what?"

"Other people's eyes on me. I just do what I do without worrying about what others think of me and my work. Don't you?"

Heero shrugged. "I guess."

"Why do you watch me anyway?" Her face lit up when she finally found what she was looking for and grabbed it. "I promise I won't steal anything."

Heero grinned. "Stealing, no. But you're troublesome; you may get my kitchen burned."

"Very funny," Relena turned around to face him, drawing in confidence and determination that she will not lose control. She would not want to make herself look vulnerable in his presence. "I may not be a frequent bar-goer, but the kitchen is one of my sanctuaries."

The refrigerator door closed behind her, and Heero's arms settled on it, pressing, caging her onto its cold surface. He drew closer, his breath tickled her nose, his distinct, musky scent made her head swim.

"Heero..." she muttered.

Measuring her skinny figure, he said, "You're tense. Do _I _make you uncomfortable?"

"Not usually," Relena stared directly in his eyes, refusing to bog down. She lifted her hand so she could push him away from her, but his muscular chest didn't budge. "Now I would appreciate it if..."

"You're always tense when I'm near you." Heero cut her off. One of his hands enveloped the one on his chest. It was cold.

Relena chilled at the contact, whether it was the growing fear in her or the incremental sensations that flowed through her when she thought of him, she would now know.

"I'm not going to hurt you."

Relena bit her lower lip, an act that Heero found not only cute, but seductive. "I know," she said.

Trusting. She was too trusting. "Do you get tense like this whenever other guys touch you?" Heero studied her face. He was positive other men desired her, but based from her words earlier, he felt a sense of pride when he was the only one whom she responded to. Even if it included being tense.

Anger then flashed in Relena's eyes, pushing back her gnawing fear. "What do you take me for?"

Realizing his mistake, his wrong choice of words, he released her.

Finding her leeway, Relena walked past him towards the table. "Do you always do this to the girls you take home?"

"Maybe, maybe not."

"Go sit down. I finally found the syrup."

Heero now sat down and heard his stomach rumble at the sight of the neatly stacked light brown pancakes that reeked of apple and cinnamon. "Does this have apple and cinnamon?" He looked up to find Relena already approaching the table with a bottle of syrup in hand.

The apron looked good on her, Heero thought, as Relena had been gracefully manoeuvring in his kitchen for nearly a week now. Actually, everything looked good on her. Throw her a garbage bag, and she still would've emerged looking like an angel.

"Yes, it does," Relena answered as she poured syrup on Heero's pancakes. "I experimented on this one. I hope you like it."

Using his fork to cut out a small portion from the base of the stacked pancakes, Heero tasted them, and said, "It's delicious. You're really good at this."

Relena smiled widely at Heero's response. "I was made to learn how to cook since I was little, so... there." She found herself watching him as he ate one pancake after the other. "I'm glad you liked it."

Over the last four days, there was always this satisfaction whenever Heero complimented her cooking. Her drawings that he had seen scattered on the table and had praised did not satisfy her much, for she had been drawing and painting all her life. Cooking was a different matter.

"Made to learn?" Heero was looking at her now.

"Oh." Relena averted her gaze from his, gave a shaky laugh, and began to chew on her pancakes, as well. "We didn't have house helpers at home, so mom taught me early." _No, actually, my family just wanted me to be the perfect wife for a rich husband._

"Hn." Heero seemed to buy her reason and proceeded in devouring his breakfast.

"The other night, you said that you bring only pick lonely girls from the street when they cook for you," Relena said.

This caught Heero's attention, and he smirked. "I did," a tinge of challenge was apparent in his tone.

"In this line of lonely girls you speak of and have taken home, where do I come in?"

"You're the first one."

Relena was baffled. "Really?"

"The first one who could actually cook, I guess," Heero's smirk turned into a smile as he sliced another pancake.

"I'll take that as a compliment," Relena said, elated at seeing Heero's grin. Turning her attention back to her breakfast, she thought of being the last.

Unlike their first meeting, they had already somehow grown accustomed to eating together at ease. For the past few days, there had been a routine in their lifestyle: She will prepare breakfast; he will take her to her part-time job before he went to his own at his friend Duo Maxwell's automobile repair shop, and by evening he will pick her up, much to her protest at first, and they will head home.

At home at night, the fire will be lit, and Relena would be sitting by the window as she drew and made sketches of all the places that she had wanted to visit and had only seen in postcards, while Heero read books, mostly in physics, aviation, and wars – endless of them.

Heero, she inferred, was actually a man who can hold long conversations. Long, but direct to the point, no beating around the bush. She liked hearing him talk. It felt like a privilege to hear his velvet voice give out jargons on mathematical equations, laws of Physics, and the Battle of Waterloo. He would answer her questions about town and see the amusement in his eyes as he explained with much enthusiasm.

Another thing she observed about him, that she liked seeing about him was his intimidating appearance, probably brought about by his piercing gaze and lack of smile, but she knew there was always a sense of gentleness in him that he let out in certain occasions. It was enough for to believe that this stranger would not harm her. Except for the one that happened today.

At an art school where she applied as a tutor for children, she was often teased by her giddy co-workers whenever Heero dropped her off and picked her up there. _Boyfriend. _Her co-workers referred to the man she was living with, her boyfriend. Despite their doubts, Relena incessantly dismissed that status, but was given a retort of "But you're living together."

Looking at it now, as she stood to get a huge bottle of juice in the refrigerator, the idea had sunk in to her. That her and Heero's set-up was almost similar to a wedded couple's. She then instantly wondered if this could be the same if she were already married with the man her parents arranged for her.

_No, it wouldn't, _she told herself. His husband would be a rich heir and they would be living in an estate with so many rooms that it was possible not to see each other, as opposed to just spending time together in a cozy living room warmed up by the crackling fire in the fire place. There would be house helpers, she thought, lots of them. They would do all the house work, and she would spend the rest of her days working, studying business jargons that she totally had no interest in. Yes, it would be a perfect life in the eyes of an outsider. But to Relena, it would be a living hell.

"Relena." Heero's voice behind her brought her back to reality, realizing that she had spaced-out and was still standing by the refrigerator, the juice bottle in hand, and was staring outside the window.

"Sorry." Returning to the table, she poured the juice on the two mugs, feeling Heero's eyes on her as she did so.

"Have you explored Barge City yet?" Heero said, watching her as she sat.

"Hmmm," Relena began, adding more syrup on her now two-stack pancake. "Not that much, I guess. Only the stores nearby. I can't..." _risk getting caught. _Her voice trailed off. "I have a poor sense of direction. I may end up knocking on a different house."

"You don't go out often, do you?" Heero drank, pushing the idea of her ending up in another man's house at the back of his head.

"No." Relena lowered her head. "No, I don't. My parents are very overprotective. They wouldn't let me go out that much. I could barely recognize the streets of Newport, actually."

She was now playing with her food, drawing circles with her fork and syrup on her plate. And then Heero spoke, "Do you have time tonight?"

"Tonight?" Her eyes met his. She was a bit taken aback by the intensity of his gaze. She saw her reflection in them, fully focusing on her. "Of... of course."

"Let's take a tour in town."

When she said nothing, Heero said, "It's a real waste that you're only confined in your house. The outside world is a different experienc. Barge is so much better, cleaner, and nature-friendly than Newport. You're going to like it."

Relena chuckled. "Well, sorry about that. My paintings are delicate, so I only want them in my room. I don't want them to have any dirt from outside, especially when I paint." She ate the last pieces of her pancake as Heero's words danced in her head. The idea of seeing the outside world excited her. And he would be with her. "Where are we going to go?"

There was this slight fear of being seen by any of her family's staff, if her parents did send out people to look for her, but she buried the fear alive.

"Wait until later," Heero said. "Trust me."

"I do," Relena answered, now standing with her empty plate in hand and started to clear up the table. "I'm counting on it."

She did not expect it, but then Heero was already at her side, and were taking the plates from her, their fingers brushed against each other and she felt herself shiver . It was one of the things that she had not gotten used to in the house. "Hey, what?"

"I'll go wash the dishes," Heero offered, towering over her, as he made a mental note of the dark circles under her eyes and tensed demeanour. He motioned to the doorway. "Go ahead and get dressed. I'll take it from here."

"Alright," Relena said, tapping her hand over his, her voice shaking. She felt his skin under her touch tensed, as well. Heero's jaw clenched. "Thanks." She then exited the kitchen and yawned. The sound of running water from the faucet filled the house.

Now standing in the living room, Relena looked at her widely opened sketchpad that revealed her rough pencil sketch of the sun rising atop a sea of pine trees. She was instantly reminded of why she had left her home, why she had gotten a part-time job, why she had refused to go back to the life she once had.

Looking around the house and with the clattering of the plates from the other room, Relena knew that she could not stay here for long. Not in Sanc, not in Barge, and not in Heero's house.

She could get used to this lifestyle and set-up with Heero, Relena thought. But she shouldn't.

* * *

"So let me get this straight," Hilde said, laying both her palms flat on the table and stared intently at her friend. "You still plan to leave the country?"

"Uh-huh," Relena answered, taking a sip of her coffee. "When I've saved enough from my part-time job, I'll go out. That is if no one tells my family where I am."

Hilde raised an eyebrow. "You are so sure about this. Where do you plan to go? Oh my goodness, I'm going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you, too, Hilde. A lot." Relena smiled. "I may attend an art school in California, I guess. There are a lot of great art schools there." Sinking back to her chair, Relena added, "But I guess, if I get a chance to enter airports without father's security team, I may venture to the colonies in space if I really want to focus. I heard the L4 colony cluster is known for their art programs."

Hilde also sank back to her seat at the booth of the coffee shop. She sighed. "Relena, you're my friend. And it's still hard for me to absorb that you've just left your family, your friends, your... life, your good life. We're still eighteen years old, you've barely went outside your house without security, and you've got tons of house helpers in your mansion. Are you really sure you're ready for the real world? It won't be easy."

"It isn't a good life when you've spent eighteen years of your life trying to be the person others wanted you to be, especially when it gets to be their choice on which you're going to marry. I don't even know the guy." Relena answered, setting down her mug. "As for your other concern, I'm capable. "You know me, Hilde. I'm a fast-learner. I will learn to adjust just fine. I think this is where all the lessons that mother and father had me take can be applied. Living on my own won't be that bad. Actually, now, I'm living with Heero, right?"

Hilde gave an incredulous look at the sound of _that_ Heero's name, and she couldn't help but give a malicious smile when she saw Relena's face lighten up when she mentioned him. "Heero, the guy your're living with. Right. So how do you apply your lessons with him? Did you dance the waltz with him? I can hardly say that's what you need to survive in the real world."

"Cut it out." Relena waved to dismiss her friend's malicious smile. "Well, I cook. I also do the laundry. Well, my laundry, at least. He wouldn't let me do it for him. Maybe I can sew some of his clothes someday, or dance with him, like you said. Or do some flower arrangements to decorate his living room." She leaned her cheek on her palm as she rested her elbow on the table, smiling as she thought of him dancing with her on the living room at night by the fireplace. Does he know how?

"Something tells me that you're not just simply housemates," Hilde accused, drumming her fingers on the table, wondering why her friend had gone from serious to dreamy in an instant.

"We are," Relena said.

"Your strange smile seems to tell otherwise. Are you not strangers with each other anymore?"

"I know there's a great deal about him that I don't know yet. But I do know that he's really nice, though intimidating at times. He's intelligent, a science-freak. He reads a lot about physics and aviation, and always watches sci-fi on TV. And I've already mentioned before that he has beautiful eyes, right?"

_I like watching you._Those eyes, Relena thought, remembering how he had looked at her with eyes full of intensity, like a storm raging inside him that had the ability to send electric jolts through her body. And his hands, those hands.

Hilde had her hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter. "I hope you can see yourself right now. I haven't seen you this... enthusiastic when talking about a guy."

"Really?" Relena gave an incredulous look.

"Really."

"Well," Relena said, pouring sugar in her mug. "He's different from all the other guys our age that my parents have introduced to me. Not even my partners from dance classes. He's got this intimidating aura, a real charmer with that look. But he always ends up saving the day. Saving me. He has done a great deal of it, actually."

"You like him," Hilde said flatly.

Relena met her friend's gaze. "Of course I do. What's not to like?"

"No. Not simple like, like the one you share with your guy friends. Like as in attraction, passion, that sort of like."

"Oh, you mean love?"

Hilde sighed in exasperation, pressing her palm on her forehead. "Yes, yes. That."

"I don't know. I haven't been in love ever."

Removing her hand from her forehead, Hilde said, "Be careful, Relena."

Relena cocked her head to the side. "About what?"

"Falling in love," Hilde answered. "I don't want to sound pessimistic here. But if you plan to leave Sanc or Earth to pursue your dreams, getting attached won't do."

Instantly, Relena thought of all the bachelors that her parents had introduced to her during social gatherings and parties. She thought of those she had been paired with in every dance and sports lesson she had attended. There were good-looking men, intelligent, athletic, near to perfection. Relena was not human if she said that she was not attracted to any of them, especially on the physical aspect. But she was sure that none of them had equated to love. Surely, Heero would not be an exception to that, she thought. Hilde was right. If she wanted to pursue her dreams, she should be prepared of having to leave him anytime soon.

"I won't," Relena said, more of trying to convince herself.

She closed her eyes, and pictured him as he stood on the kitchen counter watching her as she cooked, his scent, his breath, the feel of his hands on hers, the way his muscles flexed whenever he carried woods from the backyard to tend to the fire at night as they hung out in the living room, the times when he would share the bathroom with her whenever they brushed their teeth, his bare arm rubbing against hers, the honest look in his eyes when he praised her works of art like she had painted the Mona Lisa herself, his patience whenever he waited for her until her work was done, they way his bangs fell over his eyes whenever he reads, the way he told her that she can hold on to him as tightly as she wanted, the way he smirked, the way he would listen to her attentively as she rambled on how awful her sketches were during the night, the way he would say "Good night" to her before he retired to bed.

No, she would certainly not fall for him.

* * *

"You've spent almost a week with her and you still haven't had her on your bed?" Duo Maxwell said, his arms spread out widely in disbelief, as he looked at his friend incredulously. "That's news."

Heero, who was working on the tires of a sedan with a lug wrench, wiped a sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. "Keep your voice that loud and you won't live for the next day."

Swallowing, fully knowing what his friend was capable of, the long-haired braided brunette sat cross-legged beside Heero in between two sedans parked inside the automobile repair shop. Now almost whispering, Duo said, "So what's with her for not having you aroused at all? She's not seductive enough? Or maybe she's got small..."

Heero finally met his friend's eye and glared at him. If looks could kill, Duo would have been six feet under by now. "I don't remember discussing my sex life in detail with anyone. And I'd appreciate it if you dealt with the other car instead of pissing me off."

"Okay, okay!" Duo held up both his hands in defeat. "Geez, can you blame me for wondering? Since you're really not one of those who are noted for their great sense of control." He leaned forward. "But at least tell me this, that Relena is pretty at least, right?"

Heero turned back to the tire he was working on. Pretty is such an understatement, he thought. "She's beautiful." He thought of Relena's face, hands, eyes, sketches, _everything._

Duo's jaw dropped. "I may have understood you not wanting to bed her if she were ugly. But man, I don't know about you now."

"You don't have to know. It's none of your business." Still working on the tire, he added. "She's innocent."

"Oh my god, did a wrench hit you on the head?" Duo's eyes widened, his voice growing louder again. "Innocent? You like innocent girls now? Heero, she went with you! A perfect stranger! How would you know if she didn't just lust after you when she agreed to live with a man she didn't even know?"

"She was helpless at that time. So I took her in." Stopping from his work, he glared at Duo."Rape is not in my nature, Duo. If that's what you mean. I don't force myself on a woman. Even if she has somehow adjusted at home now, she's still tense when I'm near her."

"How so? Maybe she likes you."

Thoughts of what had transpired in the kitchen earlier flooded in Heero's mind. She was a woman who did not think highly of herself. She was a woman totally unaware of how other men thought of her. He gripped the lug wrench tightly, his knuckles turning white as he thought of Relena's innocence bordering on ignorance, of how desirable she was. And too trusting. If he had not been the one to find her in the bar on that destined night, god knows what could have already happened to her.

"So how long is she staying?"

"Still unknown."

Duo leaned on the car. "Wufei called this morning. Your parents are already in Europe."

Heero met his eyes. Duo added, "It'll only be a matter of time, Heero. Sylvia Noventa's really upset about your departure. Think about what you're going to do now."

"About the girl, Relena." Duo watched his friends rake a hand through his hair. Yes, he got his attention. "She could be involved in this. But since you're not really attached to her or anything then I think you'll both be fine when the time comes."

Heero stood, wiping sweat from his forehead. He looked at the streets outside. "Time," he said. "It's only a matter of time."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Hi there! Goodness, I didn't think I'd be able to put this up so late!

Lately I realized that I've been writing longer chapters for this story compared to my other stories. And yeah, I was reminded that it's because I plan to keep this story as short as possible. Like, not exceeding five chapters?

In line with that, I'd like to know what length of chapters you guys like. You like it long? Or you like it a bit shorter than this? I have to know! Haha.

Also, to **maddytta,**who has reviewed my other story "Tears of the Moon," if ever you're reading this, I'd like to tell you that I've tried sending you the link to Frozen Teardrop via PM, but it seems that you've disabled your PM system. So I can't contact you. :| I hope you see this! :)

That's all! A big bear hug to those who have reviewed this so far! Hihi. Take care! ^_^


	4. No Other

**Chapter 4: No Other**

"_Your two warm hands gets cold when I'm cold__  
__Your heart that used to be strong becomes sensitive when I'm hurt__  
__Take my hands silently, hold me silently, I'm only wishing for such little comforts__  
__You don't know my heart that wanted to do more just for you~"_

_~No Other by Super Junior~_

* * *

"Good work," Trowa Barton, a brooding tall, young man with emerald green eyes said, as the last of their students and its mom left their school. He moved from the door and smiled at an equally tall lean, woman, with short, curly, reddish-brown hair, who smiled back at him, her gray eyes shining. "The number of students keep increasing, Sis. More kids are gaining interest in art."

"I know. Father will be delighted to know about this." Leaning on the counter by the entrance, Catherine Bloom said. "It's also good that we've got more volunteers here to teach. They're all good, especially the newcomer."

"You mean, Relena?" The man said; his smile widened. "Yeah, she's really good, especially with the acrylic. The kids love her, too. She has the ability to teach different styles that children can grasp easily."

"There's a different look in your eyes," Catherine said.

Catherine looked at her younger brother, a man two years younger than her, and the one who would be the head of the influential Barton Foundation. They were close as siblings. She was aware that Trowa had always been playing around with women since they were children, but she knew just by a single look in his eyes when he was serious with one. And for the past few days since Relena had stepped in their school, he had always given her undivided attention.

"She's still upstairs," Catherine motioned to the stairs near the counter. "I'll be buying some new materials," she said as she went under the wooden counter and went on the other side to tap her brother on the shoulder. "I'll buy dinner." She winked. "Be gentle with her."

* * *

Silence. There was pure silence that Relena found respite in after a whole afternoon's worth of chattering and laughter from pre-school and elementary school children. She glanced around the walls of the large room, which was painted with rainbows, meadows, and animals, and stars – a contrast to her art room at home that was painted only white.

There on the floor were papers. Lots of them; some had rough pencil sketches, paint, and other incomprehensible doodles. And she picked them up one by one, smoothing the crumbled papers to run her hands through them, each time making her remember of how she was strictly trained to draw when she was young. She would keep them.

It was a good thing that the Bartons set up a school for children, who wanted to learn the basics of drawing and painting, she thought. She could still remember the time when she had first tried her hand at drawing, and found herself sketching the whole facade of their mansion in an

At the other side of the room were the canvases for older children. As she ran a hand on a blank surface, she picked up a paintbrush and began to express her yearning.

She was in the middle of applying the color green to add in the series of lines and shapes of red, yellow, orange when Trowa appeared beside her. "Now this is something new," he said.

Startled, Relena put the paintbrush down and put her hands on her lap. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

"It's okay. Our employees can use all the canvas and papers they want." Trowa dismissed with a wave. He motioned to her work. Though he was not a fan of art himself, his father's incessant musings about it still gave him a brief background of it. "You're using warm colors now." He turned to her, his full bangs slightly covering his one eye. "Lately I've noticed you're using cool colors. The sad colors. What's the sudden change?"

Tilting her head to the side, Relena eyed her employer – Trowa Barton. She liked him. She liked the warm treatment that he had with all the other employees and children, his smile was capable of stopping women from whatever they were doing, and had a kind nature beneath his usually silent mien.

He reminded her of Heero.

A smile split her face. "I don't know. Maybe adjusting to a new environment is good?"

"Your works, they're really good." Trowa said. "Don't you want to go to an art school? I'm feeling a bit guilty that we do not have a Bachelor's degree program here."

Relena chuckled. "It's okay." She looked down, her fingers played with each other on her lap. "I'm saving up to attend one."

"Yeah. Catherine told me." Trowa put his hands in his jeans pocket. "That's why I already sent a word to our father. He's a shareholder in a prestigious art college in the L3 Colony cluster. He could get you in there. If he likes your works, he will sponsor your education."

Relena met his eyes, her brows furrowed. "You can't be serious."

Trowa shrugged. "I can't believe I can be serious, as well." He chuckled. "He wants a sample of your works and would want to... talk to you. Of course he'd want to know about the person he'd be sponsoring. Would you like to take the chance?"

Words were caught in Relena's throat. This was it: the ticket to her dream. She couldn't believe it'd be within grasp this early. "I'd love to," she said.

Trowa smiled. "It's in the L3 Colony. Will your parents allow you to travel that far?"

"Yes." Relena answered immediately. _But that means the airport..._

"Alright then. We'll fly with our private jet," Trowa said.

A sigh of relief came from Relena, placing a hand on her chest. "When will I meet him?"

"I have to go back to the colony tomorrow. If you're sure about it, you can come with me."

Relena was taken aback. "That sudden?"

Trowa nodded. "I apologize for the late notice. But, yes. We'll be leaving tomorrow night. This is what you want, right?"

"Yes," Relena whispered. She looked down on her lap. Yes, this was what she had always wanted: her dream, art school, and a new environment. She was happy with the offer. Never did she expect that an opportunity like this could just fall on her lap. But she had to leave tomorrow already. _Then that means... today's my last day with Heero._

"Relena, is there something wrong?" Trowa said; his voice soft.

Relena looked up to him and was surprised that he had come closer. He leaned down so his face was only centimetres away from hers. Before she could say anything, he lifted his hand and gently ran his fingers from her temples up to her cheeks, and traced her jawline. She stiffened under his touch.

"Do know why I'm doing this?" Trowa asked.

Relena wondered if it was about the offer or his touch. She shook her head.

Relena saw herself reflected in Trowa's emerald green eyes. He could only see her. But in her mind, she saw someone else. She thought of Heero. She thought of how, without even touching, his presence alone could elicit a plethora of emotions that she had not felt before. And when he had touched her, the warmth of his hand was enough for her defenses to melt and her passion to grow.

Looking at Trowa's icy gaze that was similar to Heero's, she searched for clues. How was it that this equally kind and good-looking, fine man, and the rest of the bachelors that had been introduced to her could not make her as giddy, as fragile, and as strong at the same time? Trowa inched closer; she recalled how Heero's touch made her knees wobble earlier that morning.

It was not what she was feeling now. Yes, something was wrong.

Closer. Trowa was closer now. It made her heart race. His hand on her face cupped her cheek, while his other hand settled on one of hers on her lap for support. Her fingers curled under his touch, and his eyes were about to close, his lips prepared to collide with her own.

But the collision never occurred. Relena freed one of her hands from her lap and placed it atop Trowa's chest to push him away. She turned her head, and Trowa's lips met the skin at the edge of her lips.

Relena's hand fell down her sides; Trowa pulled back with her reaction. He looked into her confused blue eyes that were focused on a spot behind him. Following her gaze, he turned around and saw the figure of Heero Yuy, his childhood rival.

"Heero," Trowa said, straightening his posture. It had been years since they had last seen each other. And now, looking at his stature, the brown hair, and the bangs that hung over his eyes, the dark look in his eyes, his intimidating mien, he knew that he was still the man whom he had competed with in almost every sport during summer vacations when they were children. They were never friends, in his recollection, only rivals.

"What a surprise. I didn't know you're back in Sanc. You haven't changed at all," Trowa said, measuring his rival.

"So are you Trowa." The tone of his voice was as cold as the look in his eyes. Heero was leaning by the doorframe, his arms crossed. He glanced at Relena. "I guess I'm interfering with your work. I'll go right ahead." He stepped away from the doorframe to turn around. "I'll let myself out."

"Heero, wait," Relena stood and grabbed her bag on the floor. Heero stopped in his tracks and turned to her.

Seeing the sudden exchange between the two, Trowa grinned. "So Heero's the guy you're living with." Trowa clapped his hands. "Him, of all people."

Heero narrowed his eyes. "Watch it, Barton."

Sensing the growing tension from the way the two men, who probably had a bad history together, Relena touched Trowa's arm. Trowa turned to her, his eyes softening. "Mr. Barton, I'll be going ahead. _Thank you."_

Fully aware that Heero was watching, Trowa smiled and held Relena's hand that was on his arm and kissed her knuckles. "You're welcome," he said, his eyes bore into hers, indicating a secret exchange. _Tomorrow. I'll see you tomorrow._

Relena smiled uncomfortably as she pulled her hand away, and nervously walked up to Heero, avoiding his gaze.

"Say hello to Sylvia for me, Heero," Trowa said.

_Sylvia? _Relena looked up at Heero, his gaze deadly. Still, he took her bag from her.

"Let's go, Relena," Heero said and shut the door behind them.

When the door shut, Trowa let out an exasperated sigh. So Heero Yuy, his childhood rival, was back in Sanc. And his rival was living with the woman he liked. As he turned to take a look into Relena's gray, blue, and green lines on the canvas, he recalled how he had crushed Heero's hand when they shook hands after a volleyball game when they were nine years old. Heero was hailed the MVP of the league and had taken home the trophy that Trowa had always told his father he would win. But it was Heero who had always won. And _he_ was always second best.

Now running his hand on the canvas, thinking of the landscape of Relena's face, Trowa smiled inside out. Heero had always won their competitions in the past, but when tomorrow comes, Trowa would triumphantly get what he wanted the most from his rival. He would get his prize, he would have Relena.

* * *

"That was scrumptious," Relena said, breathing in the fresh evening breeze, as she and Heero stepped out of the Japanese restaurant redolent with the scent of grilled meat. "I better try that seafood teppanyaki at home."

Without a word, Heero headed over to the sidewalk where his motorbike was parked.

"Hey!" Relena followed after him and stood between him and his motorbike. "Still not speaking?"

"Tsk." Heero's brows furrowed and looked away from her.

"What's with you?" Relena insisted, trying to control the desire to raise her voice so he would look at her and tell her what was wrong with him.

He had not spoken a word since he had come for her from work, except when he asked if she was hungry and if she was okay with Japanese food. But all throughout the course of their dinner, he did not talk. Relena sensed it, his anger. She'd be stupid if she had not connected the dots that her employer and Heero did not have a good history together. Was he mad because she had not told him that she was working for the Bartons? Was it so bad that it still angered him even now?

They ate their sukiyaki soup, katsudon, seafood teppanyaki, and sushi at an uneasy atmosphere. She tried to get his mind off of it by talking, by sharing the interesting progresses from her students, from the list of art schools that she had been taking into consideration, and new recipes she wanted to try. At least he was listening to her, that much was certain. He had always been the one listening most of the time when they were together. But still, his lack of verbal response and eye contact were disturbing her.

A strong gust of wind passed that blew their hair. Relena, almost hesitantly, touched his arm. _It shouldn't end this way. _She was going to accept Trowa's offer. Should she tell Heero?

Noticing that Heero did not pull her hand away, instead took his attention, she found a renewed sense of confidence. If she were going to spend her last day with Heero, she wouldn't want memories of him frowning. She would want to see him smile again, yes, that shit-eating grin that always made her search for clues on other things that fascinated him.

Or maybe it was better this way? So parting wouldn't be so hard?

Sliding her hand down, she reached for his hand. His gaze may be icy, but his hand offered a different level of warmth. It warmed her body in the cold of the night. Even Trowa Barton's touch did not have the same effect.

"I don't want to fight," Relena said softly. She started walking and pulled him along with her. A car sped through the streets, taking the wind with it as Relena looked over her shoulder at him, her hair blowing against her face. "You told me you'd show me around. I want to take in the view of the city slower. Let's walk instead."

"Hn." Heero moved his feet as Relena smiled at him, and pulled him along the street that contained mostly of restaurants with their colourful signs lit up, and made the city brighter in the night.

Heero was admittedly taken by surprise when it was Relena who had initiated the contact. For the past few days, she had always been careful about even brushing her fingers with him. He had not intended to be stuck up all evening, as well, but he could not help it. He did not even know it himself, but the anger just flared up within the minute he saw his childhood rival in an intimate position with the woman he was with. He hated himself for it.

This kind of anger was new to him. But when Relena had reached out to him, her fingers fluttering against his palm, he felt the fire inside die down, drowned by the ocean blue of her eyes. He then recalled that he had indeed promised her this evening. And he would be damned if she would go home in tears.

He then squeezed her hand and curved his lips a little, finding that he could not resist her. "As you wish," he said. And he let her take him to wherever she wanted to go.

Relena's heart beat rapidly again at the sight of his grin, his eyes: the ones that she found most attractive in him. She wanted to preserve him like that in her memories.

And she took him everywhere. They rounded every corner of the city, stopping every now and then to glance at dresses from boutiques, and for trying out food sold in stalls by the street.

"This is really good!" Relena said in between bites in one of their stops. She was holding a small paper plate in hand that contained a ball-shaped fried _takoyaki_. "I didn't know they sell these in Sanc."

"You really should go out more," Heero answered, devouring his last piece of _takoyaki_ and threw the paper plate in the nearest trash bin.

"You could say that again." Relena chuckled, taking a bite of her last _takoyaki_. "You really like Japanese food, don't you?"

"That's because I'm Japanese." Heero said, eyeing the bald Japanese man at the _takoyaki _stand, as he flipped the balls from the pan.

Relena threw her paper plate in the trash bin. "I kind of figured you're Asian. Have you been to Japan?"

"I was born and raised there."

"Why are you in Sanc then?" Relena said, surprised that she had even asked about his private life.

They were walking now, rounding on a corner where stores that sold items for children were stationed when Heero answered, "Probably the same reason as yours."

_Same as mine? Did he also...? _Before she could respond, something behind Heero caught her attention: an arcade center. "Ah!" She then ran inside the not crowded game center, passing through the rows of racing games, and onto the machine that had several ducks with circular targets in their bodies.

Heero caught up with her, wondering if she was interested in shooting ducks in the middle of the night or if it was her first time entering an arcade. But instead she saw her looking at a teddy bear. It was dark brown, with eyes and a nose, no mouth, and had a red ribbon tied around its neck. It was enclosed in a plastic box beside the duck-shooting machine, probably the prize.

"I have a similar one at home." Relena said. "It was a bit big, though. I couldn't fit it in my bag."

"Do you want it?" Heero asked. But he had not waited for reply and was already exchanging coins for tokens. He went back to her, inserted the tokens in the machine, and grabbed the toy gun just when the machine went alive.

Relena stepped back a few steps as Heero straightened his posture, extended his hand, and began firing repeatedly. He didn't blink, didn't stop for a moment to focus his vision. He just stood, with his leather jacket on, Relena could've sworn he looked like an angsty teenager in an action movie: tall, dangerous, sexy, and had the most beautiful Prussian blue eyes. She could not take her eyes away from him. She balled a hand on her chest, wondering if it could do something to stop her heart from beating so fast.

After thirty seconds, the magic was gone. The machine rang out loudly and Heero had placed the gun down. Looking at the machine, Relena was dumbstruck at all the red lights coming from the duck targets. Heero had hit them all, without sparing any moment to adjust his vision or what, and with only one hand, he had them all.

"Amazing," Relena gawked.

Heero grinned at her praise as he took the teddy bear from its plastic prison, and handed it to Relena. "For you."

Accepting the stuffed animal, she smiled inside out. "You didn't have to. But, thank you." She met his eyes. "Thank you." She giggled as she hugged the bear tightly.

There was something in Heero that stirred as he looked at her smiling face and hearing her laughter despite the noise in the arcade. It gave him a sense of pride to know that he was the reason for her laughter. And he was bemused at himself for realizing that he wanted to keep it doing it. He wanted to keep her happy. He wanted to keep her.

They were walking now again, into the streets. Heero observed Relena, still evidently happy. "You must have really loved your bear at home."

Relena nodded. "Yes, I do. I've had it with me for ever since I can remember." She lifted the bear. "But I think I love this a bit more."

"Why is that?"

Relena hugged the bear, tucking its head under her chin. "Because it's you who gave it," she said, almost like a whisper, like a secret.

But he heard it. And he found his self-control thinning. He took her hand, which made her look at him, pushing back his aching desire. "Relena..."

He was cut off by a raindrop that fell from the heavens on their intertwined hands – then another, and another.

Rain. And his motorcycle was parked a few streets away.

Still holding her hand, he said, "Let's go."

Relena smiled: his go signal. And they made a run for it, now with Heero guiding her back home.

* * *

It was already a torrential downpour outside when they had arrived in the house, wet under Heero's leather jacket. The rain pounded on the roof, like heavy footsteps, and the temperature dropped.

"You can go take the shower first," Heero offered as he placed his jacket at the back of a chair. "Damn it," he then cursed as he pounded on the light switch. "Power's out."

"Wait here. I'll go get the candles." Heero made a beeline to the kitchen and fumbled through the drawers for candles. He returned to the living room, with a lit candle in hand, and approached Relena who was standing by the window watching the trees be swept by the strong winds in the dead of the night.

Heero watched her, while holding the bear, as she rubbed her arm in an attempt to keep herself warm. As he came close enough to smell her scent, he resisted the urge to reach out to her and warm her up in his own way.

A streak of lightning cut through the dark heavens, which made Relena close her eyes, lean her head down, and hug the bear tighter as if she was anticipating a blow to the head.

"You okay?" The touch of Heero's hand on her shoulder made her jump in surprise.

Relena blinked. "Yeah." She watched as rivulets of raindrops fell from his bangs, and the fire danced in his eyes. There was something in his eyes aside from the dark, serious ones that she had gotten used to. Was it worry? Concern? The gaze that always seemed to dig into her soul had her heart pumping blood at an ungodly speed.

"I'll make it quick, so you can shower immediately," Relena snapped before he could discover her weakness. She took the candle from him and began to make her way towards the stairs. She was bemused when his hand grabbed her hand, making her turn back to him.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Heero said, his gaze softening. "You can tell me."

"I'm really okay."

"Then why are you trembling?"

Relena looked down at their joined hands, feeling Heero's warmth seep into her even in the midst of a thunderstorm. _Damn. _"It's from the cold," she said, forcefully pulling away from him. "I'll go now." She turned around before he could even retort.

"I'll set up the fire," Heero called out when she reached the second floor. "It's better to keep warm here later than in the rooms."

"I will." And she was out of sight.

Heero raked his hand through his dark, wet locks. The feel of Relena's hand still lingered on his palm, and the way her skin glowed with the candle's light made his own being ache for more of her. Her wet clothes that clung to her body that highlighted her curves were not helping in pushing back the basic lust that kicked his gut.

He headed over to the fireplace, inspected the damper, and the amount of firewood. _Good, _he thought. It would last until tomorrow. He then crumpled newspapers and began to light up the fireplace. When the fire was established well enough, he put the fireplace screen and settled on the carpet.

_Your parents are already in Europe. _He recalled Duo's words earlier. "It took them long enough to find out that I'm here." Heero smirked. "They must really need me enough to look for me."

Still feeling a little cold, Heero removed his shirt. And only then that it had sunk in him that it will be a matter of time before they would look for him in Sanc. _Time. _His time was running out. He had to leave, again. He could do that.

The bathroom door upstairs then opened and he heard Relena's footsteps. _Relena. _But leaving Sanc would also mean leaving Relena. Could he let her stay in his family's resthouse a bit longer? Would he ask her to come with him?

He heard Relena's bedroom door close, and Heero himself was baffled by the fact that he had actually wanted to keep a woman. Close.

But he knew that it was impossible to keep her, for in the past few days that they spent together, he knew that she would pack away immediately and stay somewhere else the moment he told her that he had to go. And he would encourage it, had to. She had her dreams to fulfil. He would not want to drag her down and be involved in his family issues. She had her own issues enough to worry about.

"Heero, it's your turn." Relena's voice floated around him, despite the rumbling of the rain outside, as she went down the stairs.

And all rationality was wiped away from his mind.

_Oh God. _Relena swore she blushed when she came face to face with Heero's well-sculpted naked torso. Add to that the dark look in his eyes and the fire, and she felt the temperature in the room get higher. He just had to be so damn sexy.

It took Relena by surprise when Heero approached her and held her hand. Heero had always admired Relena's delicate hands. They were soft and worked magic in everything she did, especially in drawing or cooking. "You're still trembling."

"Still cold," Relena answered in an instant.

"Whatever you say." He dropped her hand and walked upstairs.

Feeling her eyes on him, he grinned at her from the second floor. "Would you like to come with me as I put on my clothes? You'll feel safer."

And it was her flushed look and stubbornness that had him smiling completely.

* * *

Heero had barely taken a step outside the shower when he heard a sound of glass falling, breaking on the floor, in time with the loud crash of thunder outside. And in an instant, he was already scrambling downstairs.

The kitchen was dark, like all of the candles had been at the living room. The momentary flash of lightning outside aided him in making out Relena's figure crouched down on the floor, picking up the broken pieces of a mug.

"Relena," Heero called out as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

His touch caused her to shudder. She did not look at him. With trembling fingers, she placed the glass one by one in a plastic bag. "I was... gonna make some hot chocolate." She tried to control her shaky voice. "But I'm too clumsy," she finished.

Wrong. Something was wrong here. Not buying her explanation, Heero took both her hands in his. "Tell me what's wrong," Heero said. His eyes hovered over Relena's lips, which she bit, refusing to say anything.

"There's nothing wr..."

A loud roar of thunder cut through the night that made Relena yelp in surprise and crush her head on Heero's chest.

_So that's it. _With sudden realization, Heero let go one of Relena's hands and cradled her head. "You're afraid of thunder."

When Relena tried to pull away, Heero pushed her head back against his chest, threading his fingers along her golden tresses. _Lean on me. Depend on me. _"I got you," he said. "Don't worry. I'm here."

He held her for a good few minutes. He let her pull away briefly when she had slightly eased.

"I'm sorry." Relena said. "I have bad memories with thunderstorms."

Heero nodded in understanding. Close. She was too close. "Let's get you up," he offered, wrapping a hand around her waist.

"You can let go now," Relena said as they reached the living room that was illuminated by the yellow-orange hues of the flame. It warmed her. Or was it because of Heero's arm? Nevertheless, she felt her cheeks warm up even more when Heero's hold was still firm around her waist.

"You're still tense," Heero shook his head, noting the way Relena's body still shivered. His free hand reached for the mobile phone in his boxer shorts' pocket. After pressing a few keys, he threw it lightly on the couch beside them, and a soft melody then filled the room – a sharp contrast to the heavy patter of rain outside.

He then reached for her cold, shaking hand, while his other fully wrapped itself around her waist. Her puzzled expression amused him. His feet then moved, and she, as well, making their bodies sway in time with the soft melody of the piano.

"Heero..." Relena called out softly.

"Feeling better?"

"A bit."

"Good," Heero said. "My mother also freaks out during thunderstorms. Dad always dances with her to make her feel better. Same music."

"That's sweet," she replied, surprised in hearing him speak of his family casually.

"How about this one?"

"Hmmmm," Relena cocked her head to the side, smiling. "Sweeter, I guess?"

Delighted at her comment, Heero pressed their bodies closer so he could whisper in her ear. "It could be even sweeter if you want," he teased.

Relena chuckled, mixing giddiness and nervousness. None of her dance partners in her dance lessons had ever said that to her, nor made her blood so alive. She was not used to this closeness, but she could not resist her body from responding to his touch, his voice, him. Just basically him.

"In your home," Heero pulled back to look at her. "How do you deal with the storms?"

They were now moving in small circles; fire crackled beside them. And Heero wanted to kick himself as a bit of hesitation and hurt flashed in Relena's eyes briefly.

"I'm an only child, and my parents are always out of town because of their work," she mused. "Sometimes I would just go hide in my closet until the rain stops. Or just sleep under my blanket. I don't disturb my grandmother's sleep as much as possible. She always needs rest. When she's awake, though, I go to her, and she tells me stories until I fall asleep."

It was unsettling. Heero pictured a young Relena, small but free-spirited, cowering in her closet as she hugged her knees to her chest, crying alone. She had always done things on her own.

He ached for her. He ached for the little girl and the lady she had come to be, who had fire and determination in her eyes, but still vulnerable. He wanted to kiss her sadness away.

"Relena..." The hand holding her waist went up to her elbows, her arm, and on her cheek. Each part of her skin that he touched made her feel sensations that she had not felt in her whole life.

Soft. Her skin was soft, like the wings of a butterfly. He cupped her face, caressed her cheek with his thumb, and slid it down to trace her jawline and her chin. His gaze lingered on her lips that she licked out of nervousness. He wanted to taste it, her.

"Can I kiss you?" Heero asked, not wanting to make a move that will make her pull away from him. It was a first for him. It was his first time to ask a woman's permission. And he knew right then and there just how much he had learned to care for the woman in his arms.

He told himself that if she will say no, then he won't do anything further than this. But he feared that if she agreed, he would not be able to control himself. Either way, he was screwed.

"I don't know how," Relena muttered, feeling embarrassed as she thought of how she would probably pale in comparison to Heero's past lovers at this.

"Let me show you." Taking her response as yes and since he could not wait any longer, Heero leaned down and covered her mouth with his.

It seemed like wave after wave of electricity coursed through her body. _Is this how it's supposed to feel like? _Relena thought as Heero's lips caressed hers tenderly. He teased, nibbled, and calculated every movement. And she found herself melting in his arms as his hand that held her hand now wrapped around her waist. It then took her by surprise when he started to part her lips, and in an instant, his tongue dived into hers.

Heero had to admit that there was a slight nudge of fear that crept in him when she was not responding at first. But he continued anyway because he had never tasted anyone like her, had never kissed a woman with such gentleness he never knew he possessed, and just because she did not pull away either.

He had pleasured other women in his life before, had given them everything they could have possibly wanted from him, from his body, from his money, but none of them had ever had his heart. It floored him that this woman who had unexpectedly showed up one night would be the one who could take it away.

Her arms tightened around his, like she was holding on to him for dear life when he craved more of her. And she returned his kiss, letting out a whimper of pleasure.

Everything. They forgot about everything and saw only each other, thought of only each other, felt only each other, and cared only of each other as they craved, nipped, and warmed each other's hearts, filling a void that they never knew was lacking. Tomorrow could wait, the shadows of their past could wait, for right now in this moment in time, nothing else mattered but the two of them.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Aack, finally got this out! It took so long. I got sick for a few days and I really avoided writing a sweet chapter with headache and all. :|

Soooo, there. Thank you to everyone who reviewed this story so far! Really, thank you! :)

Btw, this site's new features are really cute. Now we have a review box below! Haha. Feel free to drop your comments on this chapter there! :)

Take care everyone! Stay healthy and happy!


	5. Love in the Ice

**Brief note:**

As suggested by some readers, I edited the last part of this chapter to tone down the last scene for a bit. I edited in a way to make it more romantic than erotic. Enjoy and much thanks!

* * *

**Chapter 5: Love in the Ice**

"_For anyone to be loved by someone,  
Makes life in this world shine  
If it was me, I′d make your heart warm once more  
With eternal tenderness_

_Even if fate′s mischief pains the heart_  
_On the other side of those tears,_  
_A single ray of light will swoop down into the darkness~"_

_~Love in the Ice by Tohoshinki~_

* * *

Warm. It was warm. It was the first thing that came to Relena's mind when her consciousness slipped back. And there was no sound of falling rain.

Rain. Relena's eyes snapped open, remembering the raging storm the previous night, rearing to hear the patter of rain on the roof and the roar of thunder.

There was none.

Instead, as her eyes squinted with the aid of the pale light that slivered through the curtains, she found herself staring at the wonder of Heero's broad chest that breathed in deep and close.

There he was, with one of his arms serving as her pillow and the other one holding her waist, keeping her close. He lay on his side, his breath tickling her nose, his beautiful eyes hidden behind those lids. And as she slightly lifted her gaze, she was drawn to the view of his lips.

A sudden rush of memories and exuberance of last night's events filled her: the bear, the fire, the mellow tune of the piano, the dance, the kiss, oh sweet God, that kiss that sent her to a different world, and Heero - every bit of him.

Everything. Everything blended together to create a perfect scenery from a dream. It was as if time had stopped that night only for them. They were dancing to a faint tune in the midst of a ranging storm, the fire burning with equal measure to their ardour. He had held her, kissed her, and filled her with so much passion she thought she couldn't handle. And she had returned his advances with equal fervour, disregarding the rationality that were begging for her to stop, just simply basking in acceptance, and allowed him to take more of her as much as she wanted to take more of him.

_It had to be a dream,_ Relena thought, as she pressed her hand on his chest to feel his heart beat drum against her palm. If it had been a dream, then maybe she could relive it by closing her eyes once more. If it had been a dream, then she would not want to wake up. And if she ever did, will she still wake up in his arms?

As her eyes began to drift shut once more, Relena snuggled closer to Heero, burying her face on his neck and wrapping her arm around his waist under the comforter. After all, it wouldn't hurt to hold on for a few more minutes before she could tell herself to let go.

Heero stirred in his sleep when he had felt Relena shift. She had moved closer, making him think that she was already awake. But when her deep breathing followed after, he figured that she was back to her dreamland.

Smiling at Relena's peaceful sleeping figure, he brushed his lips to her forehead, allowing himself to feel this new emotion that crept in him whenever it concerned the woman in his arms. Several women had passed by his life on his bed, but none of them had ever made him feel with his heart sans sex. Last night's event had been slow, sweet, warm, and careful. And to his recollection, he was never slow, sweet, warm, and careful.

He had held for the rest of the night despite her protests later on after being swept away by the majesty of their kiss. Maybe it was one of the reasons why he had been attracted to her. She was a determined woman who can stand on her own, and yet, still so soft, so fragile.

Running a hand on her honey-gold hair, reality kicked in him. Last night was magical. Now with the fire having died down, and the storm ceasing, the issues will keep coming.

Time. He was running out of time. As his eyelids dropped, he held Relena tighter. It ached. He ached for what would come. For last night, just when he thought that he just taken the first step towards her, he feared that he was already in too deep to pull out.

* * *

Heero awoke when he could no longer take the heat of the sun searing his cheek. He sat up in an instant, and with furrowed brows, eyed the window with its curtains pulled to the sides. The sun's rays illuminated the room, clearly indicating the end of the storm. There was no sign of a lit fire in the fireplace, as well, making Heero wonder if everything had been a dream.

The familiar sound of cluttering pans, tore him from his reverie.

_Relena._

He rose and made a beeline towards the kitchen. Relief overwhelmed him as he saw Relena with a spatula in hand; crack an egg on the pan. It was natural, just so natural waking up to find her preparing for the two of them. He had gotten used to it by now, and wondered if he could bear waking up and not see her again.

Relena was in the middle of removing the egg from the pan when she felt someone behind her, making her shriek. The momentary heart attack dissipated when she went face-to-face with the man that she could not shake off her mind.

"Jesus, Heero, you scared me. Again," Relena said. "You keep on doing that."

He did not reply, only leaned down to kiss her. He pulled away, and smiled at Relena's baffled expression.

"Good morning," Heero greeted, pinning her body to the counter by the sink.

Relena felt her knees wobble. "Good..." She had to blink a few times just to make sure that he was not a hallucination. "Morning..."

Heero stayed there with that grin, with that tousled hair, with his arms caging her – those arms that protectively held her the night before. "What do I keep on doing?" he asked.

"Surprising me," Relena answered, maintaining her eyes at his level. He just had to be too damn appealing even if he had just gotten out of bed... or couch.

"You don't like surprises?"

"I do. But not in this case. I feel like I could get a heart attack."

"But can I keep doing this?" He kissed her again.

"N-no," Relena said, breathing unevenly. "It still makes my heart race so fast."

"_I _make your heart race?" Heero stepped closer. This was it. He had been holding back for days, and since she had broken down the doors of his control last night and had taken what he had offered, Heero knew that it will be difficult to stop this growing feeling.

Relena blushed under his gaze. "I..." She then closed her eyes just when Heero's lips was about to press against hers again.

However, the kiss never came about as Relena tilted her head. "Heero, something's burning." She pushed him away and tended to the egg that was now smoking and dark like burnt grilled barbeque. She threw the egg in the trash bin and dumped the pan on the sink with quivering fingers. "Damn it."

_Careless, that was careless, Relena, _she scolded herself as the scent of the burnt egg lingered in the kitchen. In just one moment she had lost herself, lost in his eyes, his voice, his scent, his arms, his lips. How did she come to the point that she lost could lose control of her actions?

"My bad. I'll clean that later," Heero said, standing behind her. "Don't worry about it."

Worry. Yes, _that. _Gripping her apron, the harsh reality had finally sunk in to her. She was going to depart today... with Trowa Barton to pursue her dream.

"Relena." Heero held her arm when she still had not responded, and noticed just how cold her skin was.

_God, could he just stop saying my name? _Relena bit her lip, fighting the urge not to look at his mesmerizing eyes. Because she knew that if she did, she would be blinded by it. And will not give her shot at art school a chance. Was this the time to tell him about it now?

"I'll just make French toast." Relena said, pulling away from him, and headed towards the opposite end of the kitchen to prepare the eggs and a new pan on the stove.

"You slept well last night?" Heero began as he pulled out a bottle of _Gatorade _from the refrigerator.

Relena paused for a while, and continued mixing the milk, vanilla extract, and cinnamon mixture in abowl, blocking the memory their mini-wrestling match when she said that she would not sleep on the couch with him holding her. But he had won that physical game, using a breathtaking kiss as a finisher. And then she lost. She lost herself to him. "Yes, I did."

"You said you didn't know how to kiss." He was standing beside her now, still drinking _Gatorade _as he leaned against the counter, watching her.

"I really don't." She said, coating the sandwiches and placing them on the new pan. "I'm sorry if I'm a terrible kisser. I don't have any exper-"

"I didn't know you also have high standards in kissing." Heero placed down his empty _Gatorade _bottle. "If you think that was terrible, I don't know what will become of me if you could do even better than that next time."

"We were just absorbed in that moment with the rain and black out, that's all. I don't think there should be a reason for a next time," Relena said, eyes focused on the sizzling toasts.

The smile left Heero's face, and his eyes narrowed. "Just absorbed in the moment? That was all it was to you?"

"Should it be more than that?"

"What are you trying to pull here?" He said, towering over her. "We both know what happened last night."

"You're mistaken, last night..." was _magical, inexplicable, wonderful... a mistake. " _Relena tried to control her voice. "It was comforting. There was a storm. That comfort was needed at that time. Whatever happened last night should stay on that night alone."

"So you're saying we should go on pretending like last night never happened?"

"There's no _us."_

"The hell there isn't. Don't give me that crap." Heero advanced, pinning her against the counter."It's in your eyes. You lose yourself when I touch you."

Why was he making things harder than it already was? He was getting to her again. "Don't," she looked away when Heero's hand lingered on her neck.

"Look at me." Heero cupped her cheek and turned her face to his. "Look at me and tell me straight in the eyes that you didn't feel anything last night."

_I've been feeling since the day I met you. _"I didn't."

"Wrong answer." And Heero dipped down to claim her lips with his own.

This. This was completely unlike the kiss that they had shared the previous night. Last night's was soft, gentle, tender, and made Relena's head spin with bliss. However this time, it was aggressive, forceful, hungry, and demanding. With teeth and tongue, Heero took more of her, deepening the kiss, savouring her taste that sent both of them to a level of want that they had never thought possible. His hands held hers so she would not have any choice but take more of him. It tore her to pieces.

And the worst part of it all was that she responded to his aggression – conjoining passion with passion, hunger meeting greed, and pain overlapping pleasure. Nobody. Nobody had ever made her feel this way.

"Heero," Relena muttered in between the heated dancing of their tongues.

Her voice reached him and had put up the red light in his mind. He pulled away hesitantly and left them both gasping for air. Relena bit her lip, a habit, he noticed, that she usually did when she was nervous. It took all of his self-control to prevent himself from parting those lips again, until guilt crept onto him.

"I'm sorry," Heero said, releasing her hands. "I shouldn't have treated you that way." _Why are you pulling away?_

The scent of the French toast starting to get burned then cleared his senses. And he now knew just how burnt food could easily shake Relena's mood. He pulled away from her. "Is the French toast ready yet?"

Silence. They ate at an uncomfortable silence, neither saying a word, just after having their first real fight.

When Heero was on his final piece of toast, Relena spoke, "Heero, for the the past week, you've been nothing but kind to me." She sunk back on her chair, aware of his full attention on her. "I... I want to thank you for everything you've done for me, especially for letting me stay here. I'm really grateful that you were the one I met that night."

"It's nothing," Heero said. "That sounds like a goodbye."

_That was quick. _She took a deep breath. It's now or never."I got an offer to study in the L3 colony cluster and..." She looked down on her plate. "I've already accepted the offer. They had to see me immediately so I... I have to leave Earth immediately."

"When are you leaving?"

"Tonight."

There was no change in Heero's stern expression. "Who gave you the offer?"

"The Bartons," she answered looking back at him and saw an expression that she couldn't decipher.

_The Bartons. _Trowa Barton. Of course, how could he have not seen it coming? Heero had seen the way Trowa had looked at Relena and had kissed her hand, and then time when he had seen them both in an intimate position in the art room. He was her employer, after all. Who knows what else could they have been doing before, during, and after class?

"I see. So that's where you're coming from." Heero rose from his seat and turned towards the doorway. "Go. Go ahead. For once, Barton did something good in his life. Good luck then."

"Wait!" Relena rose, as well. "Please... Please don't misunderstand. It just came all of a sudden and this is my dream and..."

"Don't worry about it. You don't have to explain," Heero said, looking over his shoulder. "Don't forget to lock the doors when you leave. You can leave the spare key in my room. Send me a postcard when you get there." And then he walked out of the kitchen.

It hurt. It hurt all over. Sinking back onto the chair, Relena watched as Heero was out of sight and had heard his bedroom door shut. She had already accepted this, that Heero would not like it one bit when he hears about the Bartons behind her education.

On the other hand, this was what she hoped for – that Heero would make it easier for her to go. And he did, he even encouraged her to leave. But why was it so damn painful that he had not put up a fight in _not _letting her go?

She was in the middle of washing the dishes when she heard his footsteps run down the staircase, the front door opening and closing, shutting her out of his life.

* * *

"You're just going to let her leave like that?" Duo said as he wiped his sweat off with a face towel. "Honestly, dude, I thought you were better than that. But who would've thought that she'd choose Trowa Barton?" Duo chuckled. "Trowa. That hell of a guy who's doing gymnastics. He was that kid who always challenged you in summer sports workshops. And his sister, oh men, his sister is a hot stuff."

When Heero said nothing, Duo leaned against a car they were working on and watched Heero as he fixed its tires. "How about you then? Your parents could be in Sanc now."

"They'd go for Germany first, I know them." Heero continued to tend to the tire with the lug wrench. "I already plan to go to the L1 colony cluster. It's known for its prestigious flying schools."

"So you still plan to be a pilot, eh?" Duo beamed. "Don't forget to give me a ride when you get your license! When will you leave?"

"Soon."

"Oh." Duo looked up at the sky. The clouds were moving fast, covering the azure sky with shades of gray. "What time is it, bud? I think it's gonna rain."

"5:16 p.m," Heero said just when a roar of thunder reverberated in the heavens. Rain. It will rain soon. Did Relena already leave the house?

"Duo," Heero stood and threw his braided friend the lug wrench. "Take care of this for me today. I'll return tomorrow."

A smile split Duo's face. "I think I can come up a good excuse to Howard. You owe me."

"Thanks," Heero said as he reached for his shirt on the adjacent car and put on his leather jacket.

"Go get your girl."

Heero only nodded before riding on his motorcycle and speeding off on the streets.

* * *

With her heart beating fast, Relena wondered if it was a wise decision to return to Newport City after all. The Church was crowded as always, and the priest's sermon echoed in the marble walls. As Relena stood by the side doors, she lowered her ball cap in case someone might recognize her. She then stood on tip-toe to look past the tall man's shoulder in front of her.

There sat at the second row of pews in front were her parents. They were both there, looking calm and collected and beautiful, that made her wonder if they had stopped looking for her at all. Or were they too confident that she could not live on her own and would just crawl her way back to them in a matter of days?

But something was missing. Or someone. Relena shifted so she could see more of her family, but she was right. Her grandmother Katrina was missing.

_That's odd, _Relena thought. _Grandma never misses the Sunday mass. _To Relena's recollection, the only time when her grandmother missed mass was when her school's Family Sports Festival was held on a Sunday.

_Where is she?_

Disappointment mixed worry floored the teenager. She was leaving for Space soon, and on her final attempt to see her family on her last day on Earth, she did not even get to see her grandmother. Losing her energy, Relena silently bid her parents goodbye and prayed for them. And for the first time since she ran away, guilt consumed her. She felt sorry for what she had done to her family, who had always loved her. And perhaps because they loved her too much, they were willing to give her the best of everything. Even the best husband.

She then walked away from the Church and turned to the heavens that were turning to a huge mass of dark, gray clouds. It was time to go.

A local bus then headed for Barge City stopped in front of her and opened its doors. This was it. Before, she had been too determined to get out into the real world to pursue her own goals. Now, she had made it out, and had a ticket to her future. But now, it floored her that uncertainty gripped her in this moment. Once she rides this bus to take her to Trowa, she'd be leaving behind her family, the life she once had, and Heero.

_Heero._

"Hey, lady, are you gonna ride or what?" The bus driver inside yelled impatiently.

"Yes," she said more to herself and got on the bus.

She kept her eyes on the Church as the bus drove away. She watched it as it grew smaller and smaller in her line of vision until it was out of sight.

Without notice, on the bus waiting shed, stood a tall, elderly man with graying hair, who kept his eyes on the local bus until took a turn at a corner and was no longer in sight.

_Ojousama._

* * *

As the loud roaring of thunder grew louder, Heero gripped his motorbike handle harder and drove at full speed. It wasn't raining yet, but the wind was getting stronger. He turned to a corner, stopped, and hurried off to the school.

Catherine was in the middle of reading a fashion magazine by the counter at the entrance of the school when Heero barged in with a sense of urgency.

"Catherine," Heero said. "Where are they?" He made a quick glance in the whole first floor for any sign of _her. _But there were only shelves, papers, canvases, crayons, and paintbrushes all over the room.

The older woman blinked a couple of times to put get her head around remembering the man that stood before her. He looked familiar. _Ah! _"Heero, it's good to see you again. My, my, you've grown so handsome!" She smiled and clamped her hands together. "I wish you and Trowa had been good friends instead of always outsmarting each other's guts. You were both so adorable when you were young."

He nodded. "Good to see you again, too," he replied, taking note of her tall stature, her curly hair that framed her face, and that caring, elegant mien she exuded. Duo was right. She was a hot stuff. But right now, he's got a different woman in his mind.

"Oh, are you looking for Trowa?" Catherine asked. "His plane just took off. He called ten minutes ago before take-off."

He felt his heart drop. "Relena. I'm looking for Relena."

"She left here with my brother."

So that was it. Heero let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding, as well as hands that curled into a fist. Burning jealousy gripped at his throat. "Thanks, Catherine. I apologize for the intrusion."

Catherine shook her head. "No, no. It's okay. You're the one whom she's living with, right?"

"_Used _to live with," Heero answered, gripping the door knob.

Only a heartless person would not know the bitterness in Heero's tone of voice. Catherine looked at him sympathetically, her gaze softening like how an older sister would when her brother came home with bruises from a fight. "_You _take care, Heero. Drive home safely."

"Thanks," he said, and he was out on the rainy street.

* * *

At times like these when he was fuming, a good moment with Jose Cuervo in a bar would have drowned out his frustration. But as he drove through the streets of Barge City with the rain pouring down like there was no tomorrow, his hot-headedness had not cooled one bit.

_I'm really grateful that you were the one I met that night._

His vision was blurring through the haze and raindrops on his helmet, but his head could only see Relena and the way she had solemnly looked that morning – shaken by his advances and saddened by his insensitivity. It ate him inside that her shaking, pleading voice and upset look were his last memories of her. He did not even give her a proper goodbye.

_It could be even sweeter if you want._

He drove even faster, splattering puddles of water onto the commuters on the sidewalks. He had several women come in and out of his life before with most of them not even saying goodbye at all. But why was it so different now? Why was there like a void in his chest?

_Because it's you who gave it._

Her smile, her laugh, Heero recalled every bit of it. He then thought of the bear he had won for her. Did she take it with her? Or did she leave it behind since to her there had never been _them._

_Can I kiss you?_

Ignoring the memory of the way Relena had danced with him just last night, he rounded on the final corner that led to the streets of his house getting wetter and wetter by the minute. He was already fumbling through his jeans pocket for his house keys when a figure of someone standing in front of his house halted him.

The honey-gold hair, the petite figure just below the first step the stairs of his patio also drenched in the pouring rain. He would never be mistaken even if her back was turned to him.

Though there was a cloud of doubt in his mind. Why was she here? Didn't Catherine say that Relena left with Trowa? Or maybe he was now just damn crazy. And he was just leaning on believing at the latter, until _she _turned around, the cool blue of her eyes connected with his as she called his name.

There he was, drenched as she was, but as beautiful as he had been in her memory. And just with the sight of him, she felt every hollow of her being be satiated. Just how long had it been since they had argued and how she had already missed him in the presence of Trowa? Her words were caught in her tongue when he began to walk towards her.

"How?" Heero said, towering over her as the lightning cut the sky, followed by a quieter rumbling of thunder. He clenched his fists. "Catherine said you left with Trowa."

"I..." Relena looked up to him with raindrops getting in the way. "I couldn't say goodbye. I couldn't. When I was already with Mister Barton, I kept on missing you already. And I didn't want to leave with you being mad at me. I know I've angered you this morning and you may not want me here anymore, but I just wanted to see you again. And..."

She was silenced when Heero's mouth came over her own and she was sent to euphoria. He hungrily kissed her deeper, his hand reaching for the back of her neck to pull her closer. It was not a hallucination. She was real. Relena was here.

"You looked for me?" Relena asked when Heero had stopped kissing her and instead, traced her lips with his tongue.

"I couldn't leave you alone with a storm going on. I had to find you."

Overwhelmed, Relena gripped his neck so she could stand on tip-toe and kiss him. Driven by their emotions, their movements became hurried as Heero advanced in kissing her and had been walking her towards the entrance door as he fished in the keys in his pocket.

Once inside, they had barely turned on the lights before Relena had already dropped her duffel bag with the teddy bear's head peaking from the half-zipped opening. Heero immediately removed his jacket and shirt and tossed it aside before approaching Relena for a breath-stealing kiss, fanning the flames of their desire.

Jolts of electric current ran through her body as Heero's arms came around hers. He ran his hand through the length of her hair and she felt his muscles tense underneath her fingers. A whimper of pleasure came out from her as he pulled her head back so his tongue could slide down her throat.

With passion clashing with passion as they both craved and filled each other with every kiss and touch, they had not even recognized that they were now in the living room with Heero sliding his hand underneath Relena's shirt.

His touch lit the fire in her a million times. Her skin burned under his touch. She was about to lose it when his fingers just stopped atop her ribs. Relena looked up to him, questioning why he stilled.

It was in his eyes – the flaming passion and hesitation. It was as if he was holding back, asking her permission if this was what she wanted. She placed her hand atop his chest to feel his heart beat against her palm. She could feel it, hear it louder than the patter of raindrops outside. And for a moment, she felt hers beat in time with his.

"Go," Relena muttered before reaching for his other hand to place it on her chest.

He did not need any more push. In an instant, Heero freed Relena from her shirt and brassiere. The next moment, they were already lying down on the couch with him pulling at her jeans. He looked down at her flushed face, her hair and body wet from the rain and sweat, and her chest rose with every deep breath she took. She had never looked so beautiful.

Being the experienced one between the two of them, Heero was more than willing to give her a level of pleasure she will never forget. He would fill her in, conveying the feelings he had not felt with anyone before.

"I'll take you tonight." Heero breathed in her ear as he settled on top of her again once he had taken off his remaining clothing. "I'll make love to you. If you don't want to, just say it."

"I..." Her thoughts were clouded when Heero dipped down and kissed her deeply, locking their hands together.

How the hell could she even respond when he was already driving her insane?

"I love you, Relena," his voice was as gentle as a promise in her ear as he ran his hands down her body. "I love you."

And then they moved. They moved in a rhythmical pattern, like dancing to a certain beat that the two of them could only execute with each other. Their eyes never faltered from one another as he filled her with passion and love that he were willing to give only to her as she cried out and dug and scratched at his back.

They went on all through the night, teasing and cuddling when they were at their limits, and going at it again with each moment becoming slower and intimate as they memorized every bit of each other's bodies, every feature, every curve, every smile, every tear shed, so that even when tomorrow comes, no matter what would become of them in the future, _they _happened.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

So let me just say something about this chapter. This piece was supposed to be uploaded days earlier. However, as I was nearing the end of this chapter, the electricity fluctuated and the power went out. And since I removed the battery of my laptop, it died. When electricity was restored and my laptop came alive again, the freaking MS Word Auto Recovery couldn't recover the contents of my chapter. :|

I was so frustrated at the fact that I already typed more than 4000 words, and then I had to start from scratch again. So almost everything in this piece was done out of anger and frustration that I could not write this like the one on my first draft.

Anyway, I still hope you guys enjoyed this. I know I said that I'd like this story to be just five chapters long, but you know I'm not really good in estimating chapters. Haha.

Okies, now take care everyone! And don't forget to let me know your feedback. Thanks! :)

Thanks to AsianPopCorn for THSK's Love in the Ice translation. :)


	6. Farewell

**Chapter 6: Farewell**

"_No matter how long the road__  
__I'll walk barefooted__  
__It's cold, and I look around tomorrow__  
__But there's no sign of you anywhere__  
__I couldn't say it well__  
__But I was always thinking it__~"_

_~Farewell by L'Arc~en~Ciel~_

* * *

Relena lay on her back on the carpeted floor, her body aching as she squinted her eyes at the ceiling with the aid of the early morning light that cut through the curtains. And she had never waked up feeling better than ever.

There was something heavy on her chest and something ticklish on her shoulders. When she turned around, she smiled as the peaceful, sleeping form of Heero came to view. He was lying on his belly on the floor with his arm around her underneath the comforter, his head by her shoulder. And she watched him.

She recalled them tumbling on the floor from the couch during the course of their lovemaking. Her first. She flushed at the thought and lifted her hand to hold the arm that lay above her chest, near her throat and she moved closer so her forehead rested against his. Could she even break free from this? From him? Ever?

No one. No one had ever come this close to her. And never even her life had she felt this feeling of security and warmth and love from any other.

"Going somewhere?" Heero asked, eyes still closed as Relena shifted beneath his arm.

"Have to prepare breakfast." Relena stopped moving and smiled. "You must be hungry. I don't think we even got to eat last night."

"I'm hungry for something else." He hoisted his body up and dragged his body lazily over hers to kiss her. He pulled away and gazed in her eyes. "This one tastes better than everything else. I'd rather stay here." He lay back on the carpet, rolled on his side, facing her.

Relena blushed, her eyes glued to the ceiling. "Last night," she said. "You said something. Do you mean it?"

"You doubt it?" There was a subtle shocked and accusing tone in his voice. After what transpired last night? He recalled the time when Relena dismissed their kiss as something being caught up in the moment. Hell there was a lot more last night than just being caught up in the moment.

She shrugged. "I want to believe it."

"Why won't you?" With his elbow, he propped up so he could see her face clearly.

"It scares me," Relena admitted, turning to him. One of her hands searched for his and intertwined their fingers.

Heero squeezed back, encouraging her to go on. She was scared. And was that why she had not uttered the same words last night?

"I've never felt this way before. I'm not used to this," she said, facing the ceiling again. "It scares me that I may not be good in any of this. That I'll just go back to square one. That I'll end up losing my dream and _you. _I'm scared of the fact that I still want to pursue my dream, but in the process, I'll end up losing you." The confession tumbled out of her mouth so fast. "I'm scared of the future."

She looked at him, looking for clues if he had understood her – because she herself couldn't find any more appropriate words for her feelings. It was like one of those times when everything had been too good for words, too good to that it may actually be a prelude to something devastating. And for an instant, the unbidden image of her parents and not seeing her grandmother in the Church flashed in her mind.

Heero gave her an understanding look, followed by an exasperated sigh. "Are you always that of a perfectionist?"

"I was raised that way."

He frowned. "Relena, you don't have to try so hard to be good in this." He lifted her hand and kissed her knuckles. "I meant everything I said and what I did last night. And it's going to be hard to change what I feel. Does that answer your question?"

"A part of it." His voice was enough to make her melt. "You sound so sure about it."

"I've never been so sure in my life before this." Heero brushed away her bangs on her forehead, "My turn to ask. Why did you return?"

"I already said it last night."

"I forgot." He lied. "Remind me again."

Was this his way of getting those three words out of her? _I can't say it yet. _"I wanted to see you. I couldn't go after just having a fight. I, I couldn't stay away."

"How did Barton take it?"

"I told him I'm not yet ready after all. He said he understood, and that the offer is still available. If I ever change my mind, I'll just have to contact him again. He gave me his number."

"Persistent." He rested on the carpet again and Relena shifted so she could lay her head on his arm. "He just doesn't go down without a fight."

"You don't really like him very much, do you?"

Heero shook his head. "But I respect him. Whenever my family comes in Sanc for summer vacation, he would always challenge me for a fight in local leagues."

Relena lifted her head so she could look at him. "Let me guess. And you always win?"

Heero only grinned. "But you should still go with his offer. You still can't miss out that chance."

"How about you?"

"I'll attend a flying school in L1." He brushed away some of Relena's bangs. "When I get my license, I'll take you to everywhere you want to go."

"That'll be a long list."

"We'll go to each one. On our honeymoon. We'll go to Turkey, Australia, Italy, Russia, anywhere you want. Let's wait until then." He cupped her cheek. His hand was so warm that she couldn't resist leaning on to it.

"Alright." He always sounded so sure. As if everything always went according to plan. Maybe that's somewhat the reason why she was attracted to him. He could go anywhere he wanted. She could imagine herself standing with him looking at the Taj Mahal in India, the Great Wall of China, the pyramids in Egypt, the town of Killarney in Ireland. She couldn't imagine herself being with anyone but him.

_Honeymoon. _Did he imply that he'd want to _marry _her? And it stung – the thought of her family, her husband that she ditched came back and poked at her for being selfish.

"Heero, how come you never ask me about my past?"

"You don't ask mine either."

"Well, I think we just respect each other's privacy then." She slunk back to his arm. "But I'm still interested."

"As I am to yours." He ran his fingers through her golden tresses. "What do you want to know?"

"For starters, why are you in Sanc when you're from Japan?"

"I left," he said, staring at the ceiling, as if his life was being aired like there like a film. "My father and I had a fight. It's been going on for years. I got fed up and left. My family travels a lot and Sanc is one of the places we go to. It was the first country that came to mind when I left. The first night that I met you was the the day I arrived in Sanc."

"Really?" _He also left his home? Why? _His words the night before also came to her. _Probably the same as yours. _Did it ever make him guilty of leaving his parents behind? Were they looking for him now? Nevertheless, there was something inside her that stirred. His first day in Sanc was also the day when they met. It was as if it was a grand design to make their paths cross.

Feeling that the conversation made him uncomfortable, she stirred away from the topic. "That night... Why did you return?" She said, deciding to ask more of his past in later days. "On that first night that we met outside the bar – you left and then came back."

"You were troublesome. Always attracting attention." He kissed her hair. "I couldn't leave you alone."

Relena lifted her head from his arm and kissed him. "I'm glad you didn't."

Heero was about to pull her in from another kiss but the intense ringing of his mobile phone caused both of them to jump from their places. With an irritated growl, Heero went out of the covers and reached for his phone inside his jacket pocket that hung on one of the chairs.

Murder was written all over his face as he listened to the cheerful voice of Duo on the other side of the line. After dropping the call, he went back to Relena, knelt before the woman who sat covering her body with the comforter.

"It's Duo. I have to finish the car repairs today," he said, putting on his shirt. "I abandoned it yesterday to look for a woman."

She smiled. "Wow. You must really like that woman."

He kissed her forehead. "I'm crazy about her."

"Go," she managed to say, resisting the urge to let him go. "So you can come back earlier."

"Hn." He nodded. "Let's go somewhere tonight."

"Okay," Relena answered as Heero kissed her on the forehead and headed up the stairs for a shower.

She was in the middle of preparing sandwiches by the counter when Heero barged in, dressed in white shirt and jeans, his hair still wet and tousled. He grabbed a sandwich from the plate and kissed Relena's forehead. "I'll see you later."

"Alright," she said, drinking in his handsome features, making her wonder how lucky she could have been to have met him. "Have a nice day."

"You, too." He took a bite from the sandwich, tasting the sweet taste of peanut butter.

"Heero," Relena said just when Heero moved away from the counter.

He looked at her, expressionless, and patiently waited for what she had to say.

_I love you. _"Take care."

* * *

_How long had he been out? _For the nth time that day, Relena stared at the window. Time dragged on in the house since she had decided that she was not yet up for Catherine's interrogation of not going with Trowa if she were to show up at her work place.

She had already cleaned the house, neatly stacked the books that Heero had been reading, the items in the kitchen, her room, and yet it was still midday.

"I miss him already," Relena sighed and made herself comfortable at the couch and picked up her large rectangular sketch pad and pencil.

_I have to finish this before he gets back. _With rapid hand movement and a pencil clutched in her hand, it was as if she was lost in a trance as her fingers sketched lines and shapes over the drawing pad. And she lost herself in it.

It was a long time since she had last been too absorbed in sketching something to the point that her hand ached, but refused to stop as she was too engrossed in what she was creating. How long had she been sitting there on the couch, drawing, and waiting for her lover to return?

The tip of her pencil chipped just in time when the doorbell rung. _Heero? _Relena was half-excited, half-frustrated by the thought of Heero arriving, partly because they would have time together again, and partly because she had not finished drawing yet.

She almost jumped from the couch, combed her hair with her fingers and opened the door. "Hey." When the door had been fully-opened, her face fell at the man that stood before her.

He was tall, with graying hair and mustache and wrinkles on his face, small eyes, and he was wearing a suit. Despite his tall frame, the old man had gentle eyes. He stood before Relena and hoarsely said, "Miss Relena."

At the sound of the gruff voice that she knew all too well since her childhood, Relena muttered "I'm sorry, you've got the wrong person" before shutting closing the door.

It didn't close. The elderly man, with his elbow, pushed the door slightly to prevent it from closing, but not going all the way so as not to shove the young woman. "Miss Relena, please listen to me," the man pleaded.

The young woman was still pressing onto the door, half-heartedly pushing to close the door to shut out their family's loyal butler, but also not pushing too hard. _How did he find me here? _

"Your grandmother's ill," the man named Pagan said. "You have to see her."

Relena stopped pushing, but was not going to let her guard down that easily either. "Is this your way of tricking me back into the house?"

"I would never use such as bad joke, my lady."

The tone of Pagan's solemn voice, her grandmother's absence from the Church made her still. It could be true. A chill went down her spine. Her grandmother's ill. _How? Why? She was perfectly fine when I left. Was it that bad? Was it because of me?_

"Where is she?" Relena asked, opening the door a bit wider, her face ashen in a mix of disbelief, concern, guilt, and worry.

"In her room. She refused to go to the hospital. She's been asking for you every day."

"Is it bad?"

The butler only bowed his head slightly.

_Oh no. _She loved her grandmother. She was her partner in crime. Her bestfriend at home. The only adult who knew what her favourite ice cream flavour was, her first crush in school, what books she loved, the places she wanted to go to, how many cookies she ate before having her afternoon nap, how to cross stitch. She was the person she always turned to whenever her parents were always away with work. And now that grandmother was sick.

She herself felt sick, her body going cold from worry and nervousness. She had to see her grandmother. But that meant returning home, seeing her parents again and facing their inevitable anger, and the future they carved for her.

And Heero. That would mean leaving Heero. Leaving this house, the freedom she had just recently attained. With that, she felt even sicker.

Releasing a deep breath she did not know she was holding, she fully opened the door. Family clashed with love and freedom. Family won. "I'll go get my stuff. You can sit down."

Uneasily, Relena went upstairs and packed up her things with haste, including her toothbrush and toiletries in the bathroom. After a good fifteen minutes, she went downstairs.

Pagan quickly rose from the couch at the sight of teenager descending the stairs and took her bags. "This is a nice house, Miss Relena," he said, approving. For all Relena knew, their trusted butler already have checked every corners of the house, surveying how safe it was.

"Yeah, it is," Relena said solemnly as she eyed the couch, memories surfacing in her.

"The person who owns this house might want to know where you're going."

"Yes." She ripped a page from her sketch pad and began to write.

_Heero,_

_Everything that happened this past week was beyond what I could have imagined when I left my home. Thank you for letting me stay in your house. I'm glad you're the one who found me that night. I'm glad that it was you. _

_But I have to go back. Please don't look for me. Please don't worry about me. Someday when we have both accomplished our dreams and if we ever cross paths again, we'd fly across continents as promised._

_Until that day... Farewell._

_Your Relena._

It felt like something was constricting her chest, making her breathing shallow, fidgety, and her tears welling up. She read the note again, biting her lip to prevent tears from falling. _We'd fly across continents as promised. _She recalled his plan, of him taking her to places. Now it would probably remain as a dream. How could it be possible? She was going back. By that time that they have earned their degrees, she would have been married to the man her parents arranged for her. And he, he would have found someone else. She shuddered at the thought. But who was she to interfere to who he falls in love with?

Her hand holding the pen still trembled, but she placed it back down before she could write more. Was this the right time to say _I love you_?

No, her subconscious said. It wouldn't matter anyway. Then with a final deep breath, she squared her shoulders. It was time to go. She placed now-folded on the table atop her sketch pad.

"How did you find me here, Pagan?"

"You were at the Church, Miss Relena."

She hung her head. Of course she was. "Are they mad at me?" She had no idea in how far her parents could get angry. She had always been the obedient daughter, and they were always proud. Just the thought of her parents giving her a slap at the stunt she pulled made her shudder. Perhaps they were really mad, wouldn't see her, since they sent someone else to pick her up.

"It's one of the emotions felt when they care deeply for their child. But most of all, they'd be glad to see you again."

Drinking in Pagan's low voice, relaxing like a grandfather's, she exhaled. Looking around the house that she had felt like her second home. She felt the walls close in on her, choking her with memories, especially the living room. In _this _room where she was standing. And on _this _carpet where they made love until dawn broke.

"Alright, let's go."

* * *

Night had already fallen and thousands of stars dotted the dark sky, indicating the end of the series of storms that had occurred for the past two nights.

Heero pulled out the key from the motorbike's ignition. Perfect. The weather's perfect to take her out tonight. He strode towards the house, twirling his keychain full of bike and house keys with his index finger. As he neared the house, he halted and frowned. There were no lights emanating from the house. At all. And it was deathly silent.

_Maybe she fell asleep, _he thought. Already feeling something was amiss, Heero hurried to enter the house.

Darkness. He flicked on the switch for the living room light and hurried off to the kitchen before scurrying for the rooms on the second floor.

She was gone. Bags, clothes, even the teddy bear could no longer be seen. It was as if she had never come in the house at all. His expression darkened, a million scenes playing in his head at what could have happened to her, until he saw a piece of paper on the living room table.

In less than a minute he clutched the paper tightly, Heero had no idea how many times he had read the note over and over, and his anger was seething.

"Relena," he muttered. His brows creased, a multitude of expressions on his face. Anger, worry, pain, betrayal overwhelmed him.

How? How could this have happened? Just this morning they were cuddling, nuzzling, talking about their future, _them. _There were only them.

_I have to go back._

Did something happen in her family? Did they find her in his house and forced her to go back? The thought was appalling.

_Please don't look for me. Please don't worry about me._

"How can I not Relena?!" He said, crumpling the paper in his fist, shaking with anger.

Looking down, he saw her blue sketch pad on the table. It was the only thing that she had left in the house. He picked up the pad and closed his eyes briefly as her scent that still lingered on the object filled his senses. And then he opened it.

The first one was a sketch on the mountains, snow on pine trees with the sun overhead. He had seen her draw this before. It was beautiful. She had a keen eye on detail, he thought. She was born with this talent. Turning on the page, he was baffled. It was not a scene this time, but a person.

It was a male. The man in the sketch pad was standing, looking out on the streets. He was wearing a jacket, hands in his jeans pocket. It was him, drawn in full detail. He turned the other page and this time, the Heero in the sketch pad was not alone.

On the next drawing was him rolled onto his side facing a long-haired woman, her, who was also facing him. Their foreheads were pressed against each other, smiling as they lay underneath the covers and their hands joined together atop it. He caressed her face on the paper, hoping for a moment that the Relena there would be brought to life.

His gaze hovered on the lowest right portion of the pad where she wrote the title of the drawing. It read: Home.

_That's it. _He closed the pad and returned it on the table. _I won't let you go, Relena. _He then picked up his keys and made a beeline for the door. After opening it, his eyes widen in shock.

A tall man with his brown hair swept back neatly stood. He was dressed in a button shirt and linen pants. The wrinkles on his face made him look like a vision of Heero, fast-forwarded 25 years from now. A haughty aura floated around him, his steel blue eyes regarded the younger man before him with dismay. Beside him stood a middle-aged beautiful woman, with brown hair curled right past her shoulders, she had a solemn look on her face.

"Well, hello, son," said the older man. "We're kind of getting tired of your games lately."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Sorry for the delay! Too distracted lately. One more chapter left for this story! Thank you for the reviews, everyone! Virtual hugs and kisses to all! :)


	7. Red String Tied

**Chapter 7: Red String Tied**

"_I merely hope to be loved, don't forget the things you believed in__  
__It's fine even if it is a journey with no goal in sight__  
__Let's slowly walk on the path we believe in, with the person we love~"_

_~Akai Ito (Red String) by Kobukuro~_

* * *

Relena entered the vast room of her grandma Katrina, revelling at the comfortable feeling the room exuded. It was one of the places that she could feel as comfortable as her own room. The drapes were pulled to the sides, so that the twinkling stars were visible. She closed the door behind her and breathed a sigh of relief as she watched her grandmother, graying hair cascading up to her shoulders, very focused on the cross-stitch that she was doing. Relena wasted no time in making a beeline towards the the queen-sized bed at the far corner of the room.

She leaned down and kissed her grandmother Katrina, who was flabbergasted, eyes wide in seeing her granddaughter. "Oh my dear." The elder woman put down the fabric on her lap and embraced her granddaughter who sat beside her, reciprocating the affectionate gesture.

"My dear, dear Relena. We were all so worried," Katrina said when they pulled away, holding Relena by the shoulders.

"I know," Relena answered softly, bowing her head in embarrassment. "I'm sorry."

"Where have you been? What were you thinking?" The elder woman scolded. After a few seconds, her expression softened. "Oh my dear it's nice to have you back."

Observing her grandmother, Relena noticed the darker circles around her droopy eyes, wrinkles by the temples, and paler complexion. "How are you? I came back because Pagan said you were ill."

"I'm more than fine now that you're here," Katrina said. "It's nothing big. Your parents just exaggerated with this. My blood pressure's slowly getting back to normal and my fever has been dissipating for the past few days."

"So you're okay?" Relena reached for her grandmother's hand. She looked away to where a long wooden table lay against the wall that displayed several photographs contained in various frames. "I was so worried about you, grandma. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have."

"Hush now." Katrina moved then patted the mattress beside her to let Relena sit. "My condition just really comes with old age. I am just so glad you're safe. And? Where have you been, young lady?"

"Not far."

"And?" Katrina cocked her head to the side, pressing for more information. "Were you alone?"

Relena shook her head.

"Have you met someone?"

The teenager nodded.

"Male?" Katrina asked suspiciously, raising her eyebrow.

She nodded again.

Katrina gave Relena an understanding look. "He means a lot to you?"

"I think I love him," Relena whispered.

"Oh." Katrina covered her mouth with her hand. She beamed. "My little girl's finally fallen in love."

Relena gave a small smile. "But we can't be together. Our strings are attached to somebody else." She shrugged and touched the fabric her grandmother was working on. "And to think I was so into believing in the majesty of the red string."

"What's he like to have held your heart?"

"He's a wonder, grandma. I've never met anyone like him."

"A first?"

She nodded, memories of her heavenly first kiss consumed her. The fire, the storm, Heero. "My first kiss." _My first love-making._

"All this time that you were gone, you were with him?"

Relena blushed. "I stayed at his place."

"My little girl lived with a man!" Katrina exclaimed, hands on her mouth, her expression between surprise and scepticism. "Only him?"

"Only him." Relena nodded. "But he's really kind, grandma. He didn't treat me wrong at all..." Her voice trailed off.

The elderly woman stared at her granddaughter for a few seconds as if searching for clues that could piece together the melancholic look in Relena's eyes.

"You didn't tell him," Katrina said.

"No." Relena looked at her hands on her lap.

"And he did?"

_Is grandma psychic or what? _"He did." A tear cascaded on Relena's cheek.

"My little girl." The elderly gathered her granddaughter in her arms who sobbed against her chest. "Hush now. It will be alright."

* * *

Relena stepped out of her grandmother's room once her weeping had ceased. Closing the door behind her, she found herself backed at the huge wooden door. Color drained from her face.

"Mother, Father," she murmured.

"Relena." Still in his suit, Michael Darlian glared at his daughter, his lips in a grim line. Her mother was beside him, nothing on her expression gave out what she was feeling. "Do you have any idea how much trouble you've caused us?"

Relena swallowed, recoiling from her father's anger. "No," she whispered.

Michael Darlian took a step forward and raised his arm. Relena closed her eyes, bracing for the blow to come on her face, but was startled when strong arms wrapped around her and curled her into an embrace. She opened her eyes, disbelief written all over her face when her mother's arms also encircled her.

"Do you have any idea how worried we are?" Mareen Darlian asked, exasperated. "We're so glad that you're back and safe."

Relena blinked. _What? _"You are?"

Both adults pulled away. Mareen Darlian looked at her daughter incredulously. "Of course we are! Our only daughter who knows nothing about the outside world ran away! We checked every airport asking if you have boarded, but you didn't. None of your friends also know where you are. And then your grandmother got sick."

_Think about why I had to do that, _Relena thought.

Her mother continued, "We opted to go to the authorities' help in finding you. But your friend, Hilde, stopped us."

"Hilde did?" _That traitor._

Mareen nodded. "Hilde told us that you're still in Sanc and that you're safe... and happy." She looked at her husband, who nodded, and then back, at her daughter. "It was a wake-up call for the both of us – hearing that you're happy away from home. You've been lonely for the past few days and have always been isolating yourself from us. And the last time we spoke to you, you left us. So we decided to let you be for now. And just wait for you to come back. We're really glad you did."

Relena looked from her mother to her father, incredulous. _Hilde spoke with my parents? _"So Pagan acted on his own?"

Her parents nodded. Her mother spoke, "He said he saw you at the Church. He was also worried about you."

She could picture it vividly. How her parents have gone mad upon knowing her leaving, her grandmother going frantic, Pagan being in distress, and the family of her husband-to-be, furious. Could she even bear to leave again?

"I'm sorry," Relena said. "I'm sorry."

Mareen held her daughter's hand. "Relena, we've been inconsiderate of your feelings. And it caused our only daughter to stray from us."

Taking Relena's other hand, Mareen continued, "That's why we have a proposition for you."

"A proposition?"

The couple nodded.

"Your marriage still stands, Relena," Michael Darlian said. "It has been a done deal since you were born."

_Since I was born? That's news. _Just when she was starting to feel at ease in front of her parents, anger started to well up. How can they just give her away to someone she didn't even know? And she had just gotten back home. "What's the proposition?"

"You said you want to enroll in an art school in college, didn't you?" Mareen Darlian said. "If you agree with this marriage, we will allow you to enroll in any art school you want."

"Really?" Relena asked, unable to control the loudness of her voice. "You would do that?"

Her parents nodded. "It's the least we can do," her mother said.

"If I say no?"

"Relena, we've discussed that already," her father interjected. "You will still get married. If you say no, then you'll still be wed and will take up a business course. You wouldn't want that, do you?"

"Of course not." _As authoritative as ever._ "There's not much choice, is there?" Solemnly, she looked at her parents' expectant faces. And there was something there, sadness? Thinking about how she had let her parents down, her anger subsided. Letting go of the breath she was holding, she said, "I accept your proposition."

"Good girl," Mareen embraced her daughter. "I'm sorry, honey. But this is how it goes."

"I know." Relena returned the embrace, succumbing to her fate. Because deep down, she still loved her parents. And because of the stunt she had pulled in the past week, she wouldn't want to trouble her family any further. So she stayed, comforted by her mother's embrace. A comfort different from the one that Heero provided.

Heero.

Relena's mood shifted. "Who am I going to marry anyway?" She pulled away. "Tell me about who I'm going to marry."

"Oh my child, he's a handsome and competent man. You're going to love him." Mareen Darlian tugged at her daughter's hand. "Come, we'll have to talk about your recent escapade."

And you are so going to get grounded, young lady," added her father with a hint of a smirk.

"So you're not mad?" Relena asked.

"We still are. I am furious. But my relief of having you here again exceeds anger by a leap." Michael Darlian kissed his daughter's forehead. "Welcome home, princess."

"You'll get to know him soon." Her mother assured. "Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? _Already? _

"Yes, tomorrow. His family has been Sanc in a while. You were supposed to meet him last week, remember? It's a good thing that they weren't also available on the day you left. They were the ones who first cancelled the meeting. Get dressed tomorrow, they'll be here."

* * *

Relena twirled around in front of the mirror, her blue halter neck dress swaying as she did so. "This will do," she said, gazing at herself, satisfied with the dress and not bothering to wear and accessories or makeup at all. After all, meeting her husband-to-be didn't thrill her. And if his family found her to be plain and ordinary-looking then they might even consider backing out of the marriage.

Frowning, Relena sat on her bed and reached for the teddy bear that Heero had given her. A myriad of emotions came to her as her skin made contact with the stuffed animal's fur. She could still remember just how warm his skin was against hers. They had made plans and promises, dreams that they could no longer attain together.

It stung.

"Are you thinking of me?" Relena asked, cuddling the bear. Did he look for her? How did he react with her departure and because of the note?

A knock on the door by one of their house helpers telling her that their guests had arrived tore her from her reverie.

"Coming," she called out, putting the bear down back on the bed, and checking herself one more time on the mirror. Drawing in a deep breath, she said, "It's time."

Descending the staircase that directly faced their enormous living room, Relena easily found her parents looking up at her with a nod of approval as they stood facing the staircase. Why was everybody dressed so formally?

Their guests –three of them- stood with their backs to her, all brunettes. Her eyes hovered from the woman, the mother she assumed, who had her hair neatly tied to a bun like her own mother's, and the taller man beside her would probably be her future father-in-law.

As she descended, her gaze was fixed on the young man beside his father. His back was still facing her, but her heart instantly skipped a beat. Just when her heel made contact with the last step of the stairs, the young man and his parents turned around to face her.

Relena felt like a bucket of water had been splashed on her as wide open cerulean blue eyes clashed with stern Prussian blue ones.

There he was. Tall, looking damn well good in a collared button-up shirt and linen pants, his hair still unruly just the way she remembered it, his intimidating but tantalizing eyes boring into hers with myriads of questions. This man looked exactly like Heero. How can her husband-to-be possibly look like Heero?

_It can't be. Can it? _She asked herself, unable to blink.

Still rooted to the spot on the stairs, Relena watched as this man who looked like Heero, move and walk towards her with their parents watching the whole thing with curiosity. "Miss Relena Darlian."

_That voice. _Even the voice was the same. She couldn't believe it.

"A pleasure to finally meet you." He brought her hand to his lips, eyes not wavering from hers. Relena felt the electricity in every fibre of her being.

She blinked a couple of times, mouth agape in bafflement, processing, processing on how this man right here could resemble the man she had left... and loved.

"Relena, dear?" The voice of her mother brought her back to reality from the other side of the room.

"You are?" Relena asked. She had to know.

"Heero," the man in front of her said. Her heart dropped. He continued, now grinning. "Heero Yuy."

And it hit her at full force. It really was him! "Heero?" A smile of relief split her face, and then she relaxed under his touch. "It's a pleasure to meet you too, Heero."

Overjoyed that their children had started off quite well, the Yuys and the Darlians basked in a comfortable lunch in the colossal dining room. The Darlians and Yuys sat across from each other, laughing, talking about their agricultural and manufacturing businesses, and their children's wedding.

Their merriment had been halted for a moment when Heero stood from his chair and walked over to Relena's side, proffering his hand to her. "May I ask Miss Relena to walk with me? A tour around the house."

Relena blushed. Their parents exchanged glances with sheepish grins on their faces, knowing full well that their plan had worked out. There was an immediate connection with their children.

_If they only knew, _Relena thought.

"Excuse me," Relena said, taking Heero's hand.

She hurriedly pulled him past their French doors that led to the vast garden behind their mansion. When they were all alone, she faced him. "How did this happen? You. Me. It was you all along? I can't believe this."

"It was a shock to me too." Heero raked his hand through his hair. "When I told you that my father and I had a fight, it was because of this arranged marriage. All along I thought that they were setting me up with my childhood friend Sylvia Noventa. So I left Japan. I ended up flying in Sanc without knowing that my parents had already arranged me to someone from the same country."

"And then we met."

"Yes." Heero took her hand. "Relena, what happened?"

The hurt look in his eyes gave away what he truly wanted to ask. "They found me in your house," she said. "My grandmother was ill. I had to come back. I love my grandmother."

"Ssh." Heero wrapped his arms around her, his arms around her waist. "It's alright. Is she okay?"

"She's fine." Relena settled her head against his chest, her arms holding on to his. She couldn't believe it. He was here, holding her tenderly, just like how he did days before.

"Last night when you left me, my parents found me." Heero began. "They had me at a disadvantage. I was so damaged when you I came home without you there, and there was only a note telling me that we'd leave everything to chance to meet again."

Heero pulled away to look at her face. "But it was you. It was you all along. Hell, Relena." He kissed her forehead.

"I thought I'd never see you again," Relena said.

"Me, too."

"This is also why you left your home?"

She nodded.

"I can't believe this. All of this running around led me to you. When even if I had stayed put, I still would've met you."

"It's not chance, Heero." Relena lifted her hand to cup his cheek. "It's fate. Our red little string didn't break."

"Red string?" Heero's raised a brow. "Are you talking about the red string of fate?"

"You're Japanese; you should know that." Relena smirked.

"I know that. But I didn't really believe it then." He leaned forward so their foreheads were against each other. "But I do now. More than ever."

Relena wrapped her arms around his neck to bring him closer, kissing him briefly. "There's someone I'd like you to meet."

"Who?"

"My grandmother. She's upstairs. She'd be delighted to meet you."

"Alright."

"My parents already consented to me going to an art school when I accepted this marriage. How about you?" Relena asked.

"My parents aren't as soft to me." He grinned. "But they'll get around someday. My promise still stands; I'll fly you to places." He kissed her fervently, tightening his arms around her. "We'll discuss more of that after our wedding. Because right now I can't wait to marry you."

Elated, Relena kissed him again. "I love you, Heero. I look forward to our lifetime together."

"I love you, too." He returned the kiss as the sun shone bright above them.

~End~

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Hi! Now it's time to declare this story COMPLETE! A big thank you, with a hug, to those who supported this story. I truly am grateful. Really. :) I didn't expect much from this story since it started as just something I wrote because of boredom, haha. Didn't expect that I'd enjoy this too much. In fact I think this is my favourite story out of everything I've wrote so far.

The ending is short and quite predictable. But yeah, still, I hope you liked this one.

Again, thanks everyone! Until my next output! :)


End file.
